


Marooned

by AXEe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Space, F/F, Gen, How Do I Tag, Krypton Didn't Explode, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-05 00:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14605026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: In the year 2230, Earth went to war with the planet Krypton.   In 2233 an unlikely truce was formed on a distant, uninhabited planet when one Human and two Kryptonians became marooned and were forced to work together to survive...





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Day One: Marooned](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11372862) by [AXEe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe). 



> Hello all! Here's my long-promised, expanded version of my GD Week 2 submission "Day One: Marooned", the prompt being "Krypton AU". Now if you remember that fic, just think of it as the low-budget student film that was picked up by some Hollywood bigshot (not Harvey Weinstein) and turned into this. If you don't remember that fic, just click on the link and give it a peek. Either way enjoy :=)

******

After years of disease, rampant ecological destruction, inept politicians, and three world wars, Earth had stood posed at the brink of the abyss; World War IV seemed to be just around the corner.

And then they came, visitors from the stars, proof that humankind was not alone in the universe.

The Daxamites.

Arriving suddenly and without warning, they had promised salvation. Salvation which the people of Earth had eagerly grabbed at with both hands. With access to advanced technology—technology which the Daxamites had given freely—Earth began to rebuild, cleaning the oceans, the air and had returned their gaze to the stars, finally setting foot on Mars just ten years after the Daxamites had arrived, and then breaking the light-speed barrier just ten years after that.

But not everyone was pleased with the visitors, many were stunned to not only find that the Daxamites looked Human (at least on the outside) but that they were not as ‘enlightened’ as many people had hoped humanity’s first extraterrestrial visitors would be. The Daxamites were an absolute monarchy, swearing loyalty towards a hereditary monarch which bordered on religious faith, and who rewarded the populace for its loyalty with hedonistic pleasures the likes of which that would make even the Roman Empire disgusted.

They were also capitalists, having an economy which was just as mired with corruption and greed as Earth’s, and—most shocking of all—they still practiced slavery, importing dozens of slaves from across the galaxy to serve as cooks, maids, and what the Daxamites euphemistically called ‘bed-warmers’.

Although disappointed, many scientists had remained hopeful of finding more ‘exotic’ alien races out among the stars as Earth united under one government and spread out among the stars. Finally, nearly fifty years after first contact, those hopeful scientists found another race more in tune with their hopes and expectations, a race devoted to philosophy, scientific reasoning, and exploration.

The Kryptonians. The ancestors and neighbors of the Daxamites, a fact that stunned many, as Queen Rhea of Daxam had failed to mention that Daxam had any neighbors in the same system.

But the Kryptonians weren’t as enlightened as Humanity had hoped either, although they were democratic, they held the same level of faith in their ‘High Council’ as Daxam did in its queen, and although Krypton no long practiced slavery, they did practice a form of eugenics, artificially controlling the growth of their population through a device known as the ‘codex’, growing new individuals in artificial wombs known as ‘genesis chambers’, tailoring the genetic code of each infant to fill a predetermined role in their society, artist, warrior, leader, and so on.

Naturally, the Kryptonians didn’t take too kindly to criticism from outsiders, especially from a race that allied itself with their rivals on Daxam. And as Krypton’s own biosphere eventually began to fail, as they were forced to return to the stars in search of new homes as their planet gradually became too polluted to live on they found themselves competing with Humans for living space on the same planets.

Eventually, while Daxam looked on, seemingly indifferent to either species’ struggle, relations between Earth and an-increasingly-desperate Krypton steadily broke down. Finally, tensions boiled over and open war was declared between the two planets.

And it is in the midst of this war that our story begins…


	2. Adrift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! :=)

******

**2233  
Year Three of the Earth—Krypton War**

The United Earth destroyer _Cadmus_ hung suspended in the inky blackness of space above an unnamed and ultimately unremarkable planet, seemingly invulnerable as the space around it lit up with the brilliant and silent barrage of weapons fire as the _Cadmus_ faced off against a Kryptonian battleship.

Inside the _Cadmus_ ’ medical ward, the ship’s CMO, Dr. Alexandra Danvers stumbled on the shuddering deck platting as she staggered to her next patient, frantically waving the handheld scanner across his convulsing form

“Collapsed lung! Get him into surgery!” she barked out

“Yes doctor!” a nurse called back as the ship suddenly rocked to the side violently, the force of the impact hurling Alex off her feet and across the ward

“ _Alert, outer hull breach,_ ” the computer announced as the lights flicked “ _main power failure, switching to emergency_ ” the computer continued as the ward suddenly exploded in a massive fireball, the brief impression of a Kryptonian plasma torpedo breaching the bulkhead flashing before Alex’s eyes before the force of the explosion flung her down the corridor, emergency force fields shimmering into place behind her, separating her from the now-obliterated medical ward.

Groaning, Alex painfully sat up, wincing at the pain of a no-doubt sprained ankle flared up her leg as she gaped at the shimmering blue haze of the force field and the seemingly-endless expanse of open vacuum now lying beyond it where the entire medical ward and its hundreds of nurses, doctors, and patients had been just seconds before

“ _All hands, this is the captain,_ ” the intercom suddenly announced “ _sensors have detected more Kryptonian ships arriving by flash-warp. We’ve done all we can, abandon ship. Get yourselves to safety_ ”

Snarling in pain, anguish and frustration, Alex turned and sprinted down the length of the corridor, gasping as another explosion rocked the ship, her feet suddenly, slowly, leaving the floor as the artificial gravity failed, while panicked and conflicting commands filled the comms. Struggling to adjust to the feeling of weightlessness, Alex gripped the built-in handrail running along the wall and began to frantically drag herself down the corridor towards the lifepods, suddenly losing her grip on the handrail as a corpse suddenly floated by.

It was a solider, a Marine, his body loaded down with gear and an emergency survival pack. Grimacing, Alex hooked her feet under the handrail and pulled the body towards her, struggling to undo the clasps and straps securing the pack. Finally wrenching the pack free, Alex spared the unfortunate soldier a sad glance as his corpse spun away from her.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured as she pushed off the wall and lazily floated towards the opposite wall. Struggling to regain her equilibrium, she frantically pawed at the controls for the lifepod’s hatch, finally, after agonizing minutes, getting it open and flinging herself inside, the hatch sealing shut behind her as the lights came on, the pod’s computer having automatically booted up and prepped for launch as soon as the captain had given the order to abandon ship.

“ _Lifepod activated. All passengers must secure themselves and prepare for launch_ ”

Gasping, trying not to panic, Alex ‘swam’ towards one of the six empty seats lining either side of the spherical pod, hurriedly strapping herself into one of them and then pulling up the small control panel set into the armrest, frantically scrabbling to enter the commands to launch the pod as the _Cadmus_ shuddered and burned around her

“Oh! Come on!” she groaned as the small screen reveled that the pod had a minor hull fracture, not enough to decompress, but the chances of her being picked up by a rescue ship before all her air bled out into the vacuum were slim.

Another shuddering explosion made the decision for her, and gritting her teeth, she launched the pod, the four small thrusters rocketing the pod free from its moorings as the _Cadmus_ finally broke in two. But their opponent didn’t seem to be in any better shape. The Kryptonian ship was already burning along its midsection and was now in a spin, lazily drifting away in the vacuum.

Squinting through the small viewport, Alex could make out several small dots of light breaking free from the ship’s body, streaking away into the darkness. Kryptonian lifepods, she realized as her own pod suddenly collided with one.

Grunting as she was thrown back into her seat, Alex could only grimace as the impact sent both craft into a spin. The Kryptonian pod was in worse shape than Alex’s own, its hull plating damaged, the twisted and mangled metal acting like hooks, locking both pods together as they were captured by the gravity well of the planet, violently tumbling and spinning through the atmosphere.

Alex suddenly had the image of massive, kilometer tall trees suddenly looming up towards her through the viewport before both pods impacted and darkness surrounded her…


	3. Crash Landing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! :=)

******

Alex sucked in a breath as smoke filled her lungs. Coughing and retching, she sat up, finding that she was still strapped into her seat in the lifepod and that the seat—molded out of the pod’s frame—was still secure and in an upright position, meaning that the pod was in an upright position.

Groaning at the pounding in her head, Alex shook off the cobwebs and struggled with the safety harness, finally getting herself free and unceremoniously rolling out of the seat to land on the floor of the pod with hard thump.

“Ow! Fuck!” she sat up, wincing at her now-bruised knee “motherfucker!” she spat, idly kicking the wall of the pod in frustration before a jolt of pain reminded her of her sprained ankle. Grumbling and cursing up a storm, she opened the hatch and peered out at where she’d landed, finding that the two pods had remained locked together until the very moment of impact.

Alex’s pod now rested in a large tree, neatly resting in a fork between two branches. The tree was massive, at least two kilometers tall, if not more, large enough that impact of both lifepods crashing into it at full speed had barely cracked the larger branches, some of which were wide and thick enough to double as narrow roadways. It wouldn’t surprise Alex to learn that, if this planet was indeed habited, that the natives still lived in the trees.

Assessing the tree, Alex spotted the Kryptonian lifepod about a yard away, maybe less, it too was nestled in a cluster of thick branches, and, most worrisome, it looked empty, the hatch was noticeably open.

“Great” she muttered. If she was lucky, whoever was in the pod had been injured and had crawled out to die, but if Murphy’s Law prevailed (which, today, it seemed to be) then the pod’s occupant was not only still alive, but most likely armed and ready and willing to kill any Human they came across.

Keeping a wary eye on the other pod, Alex pulled the supply pack out and took inventory, finding a dozen or so field ration bars, a fully-stocked emergency medical kit, water purification tablets, one plasma pistol, and, even better than the pistol, an emergency beacon, now she just needed to find a high enough elevation, and seeing as she was in a two kilometer tall tree, that seemed like the perfect spot.

Settling back on her heels as she sat crouched in front of the pod and set up the beacon, Alex reminded herself that most habitable planets out in the galaxy were similar to Earth, similar gravity, similar air, similar water, from there however everything went topsy-turvy by Human standards, but it seemed that the basics of oxygen atmosphere, liquid water, and an orbit in the habitable zone, were universal constants. Which was part of the reason for this damn war, since both Humans and Kryptonians had similar living conditions and flash-warp technology could only take you so far, they’d been fighting for control over the same planets.

Smiling as the beacon began to silently flash, Alex slung the pack up on her shoulders only to suddenly freeze at a presence behind her. Taking a breath, she slowly turned around to find herself face-to-face with some kind of large, cat-like creature. It was big, about the size of a horse, having a scaly, iridescent appearance, its ‘fur’ (for lack of a better word) seemed to shimmer, changing color as it moved, shifting from black, to brown, to a dark green.

It was hexapodal, its six legs moving with ease across the rough, uneven surface of the tree’s bark, and if the gleaming white fangs in its mouth were any indication, it was an apex predator.

“Shit” gasping, Alex tucked and rolled as the creature swung out a large paw that looked far too much like a hand, its claws gouging at the wood beneath her as it easily sliced the emergency beacon in half, leaving Alex to watch as the two halves tumbled down over the edge, disappearing into the mist.

Rolling onto her knees, Alex scrambled to her feet, ducking behind a bushy branch, watching as the creature sniffed the air before throwing its head back and letting out a strange hooting sound, not unlike that a goose made, rather than the ear-splitting roar that Alex had been expecting, the dichotomy unnerved her to no end as the creature continued hooting.

 _Calling_ Alex suddenly realized, it was a _pack hunter_. As if to underscore this revelation, several similar hoots rang out from throughout the canopy as the rest of the pack responded. Abandoning her hiding place, Alex sprinted for dear life, trying to loop around and get back to the lifepods as the first creature suddenly shimmered, its form almost completely disappearing as the rest of the pack did the same, leaving only a faint, shimmering outline.

Active camouflage, Alex realized, these creatures could actually turn almost completely _invisible_ when hunting. It made a great hunter and it also meant that she was about to become dinner. She barked out a giddy laugh as she thought about the fact that she was too small to feed the entire pack.

Suddenly, a bright red bolt of light sailed over her head, striking one of the creatures, who, with a pained sound, decloaked and stumbled over. Twisting around, Alex skidded to a stop, her feet slipping out from under her as she found herself now laying at the feet of a black suited figure dressed head-to-toe in a glossy black, insectoid-like armor, their features entirely hidden behind the opaque helmet.

A Kryptonian soldier. Probably the one who’d been in the other lifepod, who looked decidedly _not_ injured or dead as they raised the plasma rifle in their hands and fired another shot at the canopy above, a large branch about the size of a _train car_ breaking free to fall in front of the pack, temporarily blocking them off as the Kryptonian suddenly grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled her along, Alex struggling to keep up as the pack began to quickly scrabble over the fallen branch.

Twisting around, the Kryptonian forced Alex around as they moved in front of her— _protecting_ her she realized—as they began to methodically shoot the creatures as they lunged, somehow managing to find them even as they cloaked, either because of an advanced targeting system or just good aim.

Letting out another hooting sound, the pack began to scatter, apparently having decided that there was other, easier prey, waiting for them in the depths of the forest. Lowering the rifle, the Kryptonian soldier gently prodded one of the dead creatures with their boot before crouching down and examining it, studying its skin it seemed as Alex slowly pulled the plasma pistol out of her pack and, as quietly as possible, took aim.

“You know, those work better if you don’t have the safety on,”

Alex blinked at the voice that, although accented, spoke in perfect American English as the Kryptonian’s helmet suddenly pixilated before it retracted, melting away into the collar of the armor, revealing a woman with sharp, hawkish features, long dark hair with a lone streak of white through it, and striking grey-green eyes.

The Kryptonian woman looked up at Alex, smirking, seemingly unconcerned with the weapon being aimed at her head as she slowly stood up “of course,” she continued “most doctors don’t handle weapons, so I’ll forgive you the mistake”

Alex blinked

“How did you know I’m a doctor?” she wondered

The Kryptonian nodded at her arm in answer, pointing towards the red cross patch on her sleeve that, to this day, still represented medicine on Earth and her colonies

“I could use a doctor,” the Kryptonian continued “and seeing as how I have the bigger weapon I could kill you if I wanted to”

“How many more are there?” Alex demanded

“Just one,” the Kryptonian “a young woman, a child really, far too young to die far from home”

“How bad are her injuries?” she asked

“Bad enough that without a proper medical kit she’d die,” the Kryptonian replied. She took a step forward “I don’t know how Humans work, but this girl is of my blood and of my House, my family, you understand?”

Alex sighed and then slowly lowered the plasma pistol

“Take me to her” she instructed…


	4. New Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update! :=)

******

The Kryptonian led her to another grove of branches, the entire tree seemed to have a self-contained ecosystem within its canopy; already Alex had seen what looked like at least a dozen different species of animals in less than five minutes (she wondered what the surface of the planet looked like).

Pushing back a cluster of branches, her ‘host’ led her into a small grove, the branches here looked more like those of a willow tree, making a little shaded area where another Kryptonian soldier lay, clearly injured, holding her side as she looked up, startled as they entered.

The other Kryptonian held up a hand, speaking softly in soothing tones. Alex’s knowledge of Kryptonese was nil, but she gathered from the way that the young blonde visibly calmed that she’d just been told that Alex wasn’t going to harm her.

Opening the medical kit, Alex pulled out a scanner and passed it over the wound, it was a pretty deep laceration, not life-threatening, but the risk of infection was pretty high, especially when they had no idea what kind of diseases were running around this planet. Pulling the scanner back Alex looked up at the other Kryptonian

“It’s not too bad, but she’ll need antibiotics,” she explained “problem is, your biochemistry’s different from ours, what works for Humans might be toxic to Kryptonians”

“Is the wound infected?”

“No, but antibiotics are usually given as a precautionary measure,” Alex explained. She frowned as something caught her eye, noticing that the leaves from the branches around them had been used to supplement the bandages already covering the wound “hold on,” she pointed to the branches “break me off one of those branches,” she instructed. Taking the broken branch, Alex ran the scanner over it; finding that the sap had mild antibiotic properties. Waving it over the wound confined her suspicions “the sap in these leaves is mildly antibiotic,” she explained “and, it’s compatible with your biochemistry,” she stripped the leaves off the branch and began to grind them up between her hands, trying to wring as much of the sticky sap out as possible onto a sterile gauze pad, before turning back to her patient, who looked up at her suspiciously, holding one arm protectively over the wound

“Does she speak English?” Alex wondered

“No”

“Great. Well tell her that this shouldn’t hurt,” she explained, as the other woman translated. Seemingly convinced, the blonde moved her arm, allowing Alex to gently peel back the bandages and apply the sap-soaked gauze, noting that the wound had been properly cleaned and dressed. Reapplying the bandages as well as another, clean one from her own kit Alex nodded in satisfaction as she stood up

“She should be all right, just keep that wound clean and dry” she pronounced

“Good to hear” the other woman nodded as she crouched down next to the blonde, both of them quietly speaking in low tones for a moment

“So…,” Alex began “now what?”

******

Night, it seemed, fell quickly on this planet, and Alex soon found herself sitting in a thermal blanket watching the night sky, noticing how every once and awhile, a flash of blue-white light would pulse among the stars for a second. Flash-warp jumps, she realized, some large enough to be Dreadnaught-class capital ships, clearly the battle over control of this system had heated up. And everyone was too busy to notice three castaways down below.

“Here, water,” Alex looked up to see her ‘host’ emerge from the willow grove and hand her a cup of water. Silently nodding in thanks she took the cup and, after a moment’s hesitation, took a sip

“I’m not going to poison you,” the Kryptonian laughed “you saved my niece’s life, thank you”

“You’re welcome,” Alex nodded “so, she’s your niece?” she wondered as the Kryptonian took a seat next to her

“Yes,” she nodded “you seemed surprised” she noted

“Sorry,” Alex shook her head “it’s just…with us, Humans, I mean, we don’t allow members of the same family to serve on the same ships, prevents too much loss of life”

“It was once the same with us,” the Kryptonian nodded “but, in these desperate times, we must make sacrifices. Better for two or more members of the same House to die fighting for a new home than to waste away breathing poisoned air and drinking poisoned water”

“How bad is the situation on Krypton, anyway?” Alex wondered

The Kryptonian smirked

“Far worse than your military has been led to believe,” she nodded behind them to their sleeping companion “my niece is possibly the last of her House. If we don’t find a suitable planet soon, within in one generation, our people will be dead. That is why we began the ‘Myriad Program’.”

“Myriad?”

“A relief program if you will,” the Kryptonian explained “returning to the stars as our ancestors did, as the Daxamites continue to do so, finding new, unspoiled worlds to settle on” 

“Like we’re doing,” Alex realized “we call it the ‘Gaea Initiative’ after an ancient goddess of the Earth, but…same thing, really. We managed to clean up Earth too late”

The Kryptonian frowned

“I thought that your recycling technology was capable of cleaning the pollution on Earth?” she began “that your children would be able to grow in a world free of pollution”

“Every child on Earth has been lied to,” Alex scoffed “the government won’t actually come out and say it, but…there’ve been studies, tests. It’s too late, Earth is dying. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ anymore, so much as ‘when’. That’s why we’ve upped the number of colonist’s to Mars and New Earth”

“And increased your colonization efforts elsewhere in the galaxy,” the Kryptonian mused “it would seem,” she sighed “that we’re fighting this war for the same reasons”

“Looks like,” Alex nodded dimly. She frowned “hey, you got a name?” she asked “I can’t just keep calling you ‘Kryptonian’.”

“Astra In-ze,” the Kryptonian replied “and my niece is ‘Kara Zor-El’. And yourself?”

“Alex Danvers” Alex introduced herself

“ ‘Alex Danvers’,” Astra repeated “short for ‘Alexandra’ I presume?”

“That’s right”

“Well then,” Astra held out a hand “it’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexandra Danvers”

Smirking, Alex took the offered hand without fear, wishing that ending the war would be this easy…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex's comments about no family serving aboard the same ship goes back to World War II with the Sullivan brothers, five brothers who all served aboard the U.S.S. Juneau (CL-52) in the Pacific, and who were all killed in action when the ship was struck by a Japanese submarine and sunk around November 13 1942. Although the U.S. Navy did prohibit siblings from serving together onboard the same ship, at the time it wasn't strongly enforced. The brothers, who did everything together, enlisted with the stipulation that they all serve together. Even more tragic was the fact that, due to one hell of a miscommunication, no search and rescue mission was mounted until five days later, by which point, out of the one hundred or so survivors of the Juneau--including two of the Sullivan's--only ten were found alive, the two surviving Sullivan's, Al and George died. Al drowned the day after the sinking, and George either became delirious or "insane from grief" over the death of his brothers, jumped out of the raft he was in and was never seen from again.
> 
> As a result of this tragedy and the deaths of two of the four Borgstrom brothers two years later, the U.S. Navy adopted the sole survivor policy and later launched a destroyer "USS The Sullivans" in honor of the brothers, "The Sullivans" was launched in part, by the boys' mother, Alleta Sullivan.


	5. Silent Night?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FIVE! :=), also any text in brackets **[** like this **]** is the equivalent of subtitles. Now, enjoy :=)

******

Alex sighed as she unpacked the rest of her, rather meager, supplies

“They give you everything but a tent” she muttered. In truth, the lifepod was intended to act as shelter, the idea being that the pod’s onboard computer would guide the pod to a safe and gentle landing in or near a source of fresh water and a food. Of course, this all hinged on the rather moronic belief of the designers that evacuating a starship in a disaster was akin to leaving a concert hall after a show; quiet, calm, and orderly. To the designers’ minds, no one’s lifepod ever ended up tangled with a Kryptonian lifepod and crashed into a tree.

Alex glanced back at Astra who was hacking away at a series of branches to make a rudimentary barricade over the willow grove where the young—and still non-English speaking—Kara Zor-El was resting. Alex’s surprise patient was healing well, both the antibiotic properties of the tree sap as well as that inbred Kryptonian genetic engineering seemed to be ensuring a speedy recovery, already the wound was showing signs of, what would be on a Human, at least a few days’ time span of healing.

Alex glanced at the plasma rifle still slung over Astra’s shoulder, the Kryptonian may have saved her life, but she was still, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner of war. She’d been one of several doctors on site to treat captured Human POWs who’d been returned to UE territory, they’d all been in good health and in good sprits; apparently the Kryptonians had treated them quite well, even pleasantly, for POWs.

The same could not be said, however, for some Kryptonian’s who’d been captured by Earth forces. Alex knew of at least one confirmed account of a captured Kryptonian soldier who’d been personally tortured by General Sam Lane. Once the report had leaked out on the EarthNet, General Lane had been forced to resign as commander of United Earth Forces, with his daughter, Colonel Lucy Lane taking command. So far, Colonel Lane seemed to be doing well; since being promoted she’d been actively encouraging a campaign of defense rather than offense, having the colonial militias focus more on defending from a Kryptonian attack rather than attacking first.

Shaking herself off, Alex returned her attention to analyzing the group of berry-like fruit in front of her, finding they were safe for both Human and Kryptonian consumption (although their sugar content was surprisingly low, meaning that they were probably quite tart)

“Anything of interest?” Astra asked as she passed, having deposited her armful of wood and apparently returning for more

“Well, looks like most of the food here is edible,” Alex began “so, we won’t starve at least”

“Now we just need to get off this planet” Astra noted

“I don’t suppose your homing beacon survived?” Alex wondered

“No. It did not”

“Great”

“It would appear that, in order to survive on this world, we will all have to work together” Astra commented

“Little hard to trust the woman whose holding a big gun” Alex noted

Astra smirked as she glanced down at the plasma rifle

“I think I’ll hold on to this for the time being. Until I’m sure of your trustworthiness,” she remarked “but,” she unclipped Alex’s plasma pistol—which she had confiscated upon ‘capturing’ Alex—and handed it to her “…you can have this back”

“Gee. Thanks” Alex sneered

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of humor, Dr. Danvers” the alien noted, still smirking

“How the hell do you know?” Alex scoffed “more the point, how the hell do you know how to speak English?” she wondered

Astra’s smirk widened as she chuckled, actually reaching out and lightly running her finger across Alex’s cheek

“All in good time, Doctor,” she chuckled as she turned back towards the willow grove “all in good time”

******

Kara Zor-El looked up as Astra entered the small grove

 **[** How are you feeling? **]** the elder Kryptonian asked

 **[** Better, **]** Kara nodded **[** you shouldn’t be so suspicious of the Human, **]** she reprimanded **[** I don’t think she wants to hurt us **]**

 **[** I doubt she’d be so willing to help us though **]** Astra noted

Kara pushed herself upright, wincing slightly, causing Astra to hurry over and take her arm, concerned

 **[** But if she knew, **]** she began **[** if we told her about the real reason we’re trying to find a new home…. **]**

 **[** Now, who told you that? **]** Astra wondered

 **[** Uncle Jor-El, **]** Kara replied **[** he says that we need to be open with the Humans, work together with them. Even with the Daxamites **]**

 **[** Your uncle needs to learn to mind his mouth, **]** Astra muttered. She reached out and gave Kara’s hand a tight squeeze **[** enough talk. You need your rest, sleep **]**

**[** Think about what I said? **]** Kara pleaded

Astra sighed

 **[** Perhaps **]** she finally allowed, suddenly looking up at a yell from Alex, followed by the blast of a plasma weapon. Charging out of the grove, she found Alex surrounded by several more of the predators form earlier, all of whom promptly cloaked themselves as they charged… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! I'm a terrible, awful, awful person, I know :=)


	6. New Threats, and New Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! "Marooned" is _finally_ being updated! Enjoy! :=)

******

“I CAN’T SEE THEM!!” Alex yelled as she fired, struggling to spot the faint shimmering outline of the cloaked predators amidst the foliage

“Aim for the ground!” Astra bellowed

“WHAT?!” Alex demanded

“The ground! Aim for the ground!” Astra ordered as she fired several shots at the bark beneath their feet, leaving smoldering patches of scorched bark, smoke wafting through the air “keep them from charging!” she ordered

“Right,” Alex nodded as she aimed at the bark, causing several of the creatures to decloak, rearing back in shock as they staggered back from the burning bolts of plasma “ha,” Alex grinned “gottcha”

“Don’t get cocky!” Astra warned as one predator suddenly decloaked and lunged, sailing over Astra’s head and only missing her by sheer luck. Turning, Alex took aim and fired, killing the predator with a headshot as it landed in an awkward tumble. Twisting around at a shout, Alex watched in horror as Kara frantically staggered out of the willow grove, another predator—an uncloaked one this time—swiftly charging after her. Raising her plasma pistol, Alex took a shot, missing as the creature deftly ducked, dodging the plasma bolt with ease before it began to circle her, and it was then that Alex realized her mistake.

These creatures were predators, most likely _the_ apex predators for this treetop ecosystem, so they would have to be intelligent, highly so, smart enough to _learn_ and _adapt_ to their environment, possibly even smart enough to learn and adapt to the defensive tactics of new prey. Like Humans and Kryptonians.

“THEY’RE LEARNING!!” she called out

Astra snarled in response and suddenly a small, metallic sphere was bouncing and rolling in front of the predator in front of Alex

“COVER YOUR EYES!” Astra bellowed. Throwing an arm up over her face, Alex squeezed her eyes shut and twisted away as a deafening _boom_ reverberated through her bones, she could feel the bark beneath her feet suddenly sloping, crumbling away. Gasping, she fell back, an arm suddenly wrapping around her waist. Opening her eyes, Alex gasped, her arms tightening around Astra’s neck, as she realized that she was now dangling down a ten foot wide _hole_ in the wood where at least four of the predators had been just seconds before, the only thing keeping her from plunging two kilometers to her death was Astra’s arm around her waist, some kind of monofilament line extending from her armor’s gauntlet to anchor them into the wood. Looking around, Alex could see Kara dangling from a similar line a few feet away.

Hooting, the rest of the pack stopped, unsure of what to do now as they peered down the hole at their vulnerable—but, hopefully, inaccessible—prey. Snarling, one predator suddenly took a running leap into the hole, its six paws scrabbling for a second before its claws firmly embedded themselves into the wood and it began to calmly _walk_ down the vertical incline to reach them, the other pack members following suit.

“You have _got to be kidding me_!!!” Alex snarled

“How much do you weigh?” Astra suddenly

“What?!”

“Your weight! What is it?!”

“Uh, one ten, I think”

“Is that pounds or kilograms?”

“Pounds”

“Right,” Astra nodded up at her arm still held high above her head “see that thing on my wrist? Grab it and don’t let go,” she instructed. Grunting, Alex wrapped her legs around Astra’s waist and, with great difficulty, managed to get a firm grip on the gauntlet “you have it?” Astra asked

“Yeah”

“Good” with a flick of her wrist, the gauntlet suddenly detached from the rest of Astra’s armor, sending her plunging down. Alex gasped in horror and tried to grab her as Kara screamed in terror above them. Suddenly, Astra twisted in midair, kicking out her legs, her boots suddenly seeming to latch onto the wood. Wobbling, Astra regained her equilibrium and then began to swiftly _sprint_ up the side of the tree as easily as if she was flat ground, reaching the predator above them and quickly killing it with a quick headshot from a plasma pistol at her hip, rolling out of the way as its lifeless body tumbled past her to the forest floor.

Hooting once more, the rest of the pack swiftly retreated, scurrying back up the wood and disappearing. Astra slowed her pace, calmly walking up to where Alex and Kara still dangled

“Everyone all right?” she asked

“Yeah,” Alex panted out “you could have told us that’s what you were going to do!” she snapped

Astra smirked, a lopsided, slightly upside-down expression owing to her current position

“Now, where would be the fun in that?” she wondered…

******

Alex grunted as she overturned the dead predator, interesting the probe into its flank as she did and watching as the results scrolled down the scanner’s tiny screen, while behind her Astra helped Kara up over the edge of the hole in the wood

“Huh,” Alex remarked “its skin is electro-receptive, run a charge through the cells and they actually turn partially invisible”

“How does this help us?” Astra wondered as she leaned over Alex’s shoulder and prodded the dead creature with her boot

“Camouflage is camouflage,” Alex shrugged “if we could rig up a power source; we use these pelts as a duck blind”

“A what?” Astra asked

“Oh. Sorry,” Alex shook her head “doesn’t matter what you call it, my point is that we could use these pelts”

“Well, we can’t stay here any longer,” Astra declared as she withdrew a knife from her belt and began to calmly skin one of the beasts “clean and dry this,” she instructed tossing the first pelt towards Alex “then…we move on” she declared as she set about cleaning and skinning as many of the other beasts as she could…

******

They gathered as much as they could from both lifepods, salvaging even the safety harnesses and the seat covers, before moving on, moving _into_ the tree itself, finding that its internal structure was honeycombed with a series of natural hollows and alcoves, which made sense to Alex’s scientific mind, if the tree was completely solid then it would most likely collapse under its own weight, but by growing a series of natural hollows inside its trunk, it became lighter and flexible.

In fact, judging by the way the interior of the tree was shaped, Alex was beginning to suspect that the tree itself was in fact a series of smaller trees which had grown together, fusing and tangling into a large colony organism, some of the roots or vines had grown to form a series of natural staircases, allowing them to move from one level to another with ease, even Kara, despite her injury, had no trouble moving between the different levels.

Looking around, they found that some of the hollows were small, no bigger than a person, whereas others were gigantic, cathedral-like spaces which could conceivably house a small community. A bioluminescent moss or lichen-like plant grew on the walls of most of these hollows, providing a dim, yellow glow, whereas others simply grew right through to the outside, making natural skylights, providing plenty of light with which to see by.

“What did you find, Doctor?” Astra suddenly called out, her voice echoing among the cavernous space. Alex turned

“Carvings” she called out

“Carvings?” Astra echoed, quickly climbing up to see “well, well,” she mused as she took in the primitive, almost petroglyph-like carvings in the wood “it appears that we’re not alone on this world”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded “now let’s just hope that they all moved out” she muttered

“Keep an eye out for more of these,” Astra instructed “I’d like to know more about the previous tenants”

“Copy that,” Alex nodded “in the meantime I’d better check on Kara, see how she’s doing”

“Understood” Astra nodded…

******

Night fell quickly once again, and even for Alex, who’d spent her residency on various worlds in the outer colonies, the time shift was disorientating. It seemed that on this world, unlike Earth, daylight only lasted about half what it did on Earth, eight hours instead of twelve.

“How’s Kara?” Astra asked as she quietly came up to her, absently tending the small fire they’d built, the ‘floor’ of most of the tree seemed to be covered with a type of moss or lichen that protected the wood from burning

“She’s good,” Alex answered “she didn’t do too much damage to her wound, so I think as long as we keep it clean and dry, she’ll be fine” she reported

“That’s good to hear” Astra sighed in obvious relief

“I never thanked you by the way,” Alex began “for saving my life back there from the predators, the second time I mean”

Astra smirked

“I wouldn’t be a very good captor if I let my prisoner die, now would I?” she chuckled “by our custom, we as your captors, are responsible for your safety and well-being,” she explained “it would be dishonorable for us to allow you to die”

“Honor’s very important to your people, isn’t it?” Alex guessed

“It is,” Astra nodded “perhaps not as important as it used to be, but…we still value the honor of one’s deeds, the bond of one’s word. We still honor those who would stand by their convictions and beliefs,” she frowned “I say something amusing?” she asked as Alex smirked

“Sorry,” Alex shook her head “it’s just…most of my experience with non-Humans has been with Daxamites,” she explained “and I hate to say it, but…I don’t think they place as high a value on honor as Kryptonians do. In my experience, personal honor is more important to a Daxamite, their ego”

Astra snorted

“That sounds so typical of them,” she scoffed “it’s almost a shame that we had stopped exploring space when your race was discovered. If not, it may have been Krypton that your kind had encountered first and not Daxam”

“Well,” Alex sighed “if only”

Astra chuckled and nodded, ducking her head somewhat shyly

“If only, Dr. Danvers,” she agreed “if only…”


	7. Keeping Watch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVEN! Enjoy :=). Also, remember **[** bracketed text **]** is the equivalent of subtitles.

******

Astra sighed as she straightened her thermal blanket, examining the small data pad in her hands as she finished up the crude sketch of a map of the interior of the tree. So far they’d found that the tree—at least the upper canopy where they were—seemed to be growing against a rock face with a large waterfall. The water had tested negative for any toxins or harmful chemicals or bacteria, meaning that they had a steady supply of fresh water. The water also flowed into two large ‘pools’ formed by a combination of the rock formations and the branches of the tree, allowing them to both bathe and still maintain a supply of drinking water.

A vital necessity, assuming that their stay on this planet lasted more than a few days, which as Astra looked up through one of the large openings in the trunk, taking note of the decreasing frequency of the flash-warp jumps in the night sky, seemed more and more likely. The battle in orbit over the planet had most likely ended in a stalemate, an increasingly frequent occurrence by the second year of the war.

Although Kryptonian defensive and propulsion technology was more advanced than that of Earth’s, their weaponry was about even, resulting in many battles ending in stalemates or being declared ‘indecisive’, Krypton only succeeding in ‘winning’ many of these battles due to their more advanced and accurate flash-warp drives than Earth’s, often allowing them to ‘sneak in’ small ships to lay claim to a planet after the battle had ended, an underhanded tactic, perhaps, but one borne out of desperation.

During the beginning of the war, Krypton had struck first, launching a surprise attack on a planet that the Humans called ‘New Nevada’ but Krypton knew as ‘Rozz’, the suddenness of the attack had earned Krypton a victory and undisputed control of the planet to the present day, despite their best efforts, all Earth could do was declare the system off-limits and order a small fleet to maintain position on the outer fringes of the system in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to blockade the Kryptonians in.

Grimacing, Astra returned to her data pad, adding a few scribbled notations to her map, pausing a small gasp from her side. Turning, she frowned at the image of Alex shivering, teeth audibly chattering in the cold as she wrapped herself tighter in the thermal blanket. Scowling, Astra shrugged off her own thermal blanket and draped it over Alex, her shivers stopping almost immediately, prompting Alex to sigh contentedly in her sleep as she snuggled deeper into the blankets and Astra mentally sigh.

She bore no ill will towards Humans personally, but this was war, a war that Krypton was fighting for its very survival, but still did this Human have to be so…so…intriguing?

She paused, turning back towards the sleeping Human, taking note of the fact that Kara was also asleep, having opted to taking the third watch after Alex due to her injuries. Frowning, Astra reached out, softly—almost fearfully—running her fingertips across Alex’s cheek, tracing the contours of her cheekbone and jawline, marveling at how soft the Human’s skin was, remembering how she had drawn a weapon on Astra even after Astra had saved her life. It had been stupid, reckless, but also brave, and Astra like bravery, she like people who were brave for others, not for themselves.

Shaking herself off, she jerked her hand away from Alex’s face, quickly checking and finding that the Human was still asleep. Taking a shuddering breath, Astra turned back to her map, deciding that it was merely because she’d been alone for so long that she felt attracted to the Human. Despite their best efforts, the Kryptonians had quickly realized that breeding out the sex drive from their population had resulted in a society of largely unstable people, the best they could do was dull the impact of the drive, and so while modern Kryptonians were not as sexually passionate as Humans, they still retained sexual impulses.

Ignoring how her hands tingled from when she’d touched Alex, Astra focused on her map, outlining defensive positions, unaware of Alex watching her, absently reaching up and feeling where her skin still tingled from Astra’s touch…

******

Astra’s watch ended about three hours later and she tiredly roused Alex, absently handing her an extra ammunition cartridge for the plasma rifle, before shuffling off to get some sleep herself, leaving Alex to tend to the fire and keep watch for any predators or, possibly, the natives from encroaching on their camp. Taking a breath as she armed the plasma rifle, Alex found herself glancing back at the now-sleeping Astra.

The Kryptonian solider was an enigma, a mystery, a puzzle. And Alex liked puzzles. She wondered about Astra, if Kara hadn’t been injured, would she have bothered to save Alex’s life, or would she had just let the predators eat her? Or even kill her herself?

No, Alex mentally shook her head, Astra wasn’t a killer; she didn’t have a killer’s eyes. In her time spent as a doctor on the frontlines, helping to treat wounded soldiers, Alex had seen, first hand, how some soldiers tragically surrendered to the beast within, how they not became to numb to killing, but how some had began to even _enjoy_ it, rationalizing it by virtual of Kryptonians not being Human, seeing it as no different as killing a pest who’d invaded your home, becoming ruthless, aggressive killing machines who killed for sport.

But Astra wasn’t like that, she still believed in honor, she would have saved Alex’s life regardless of whether or not Kara had been injured or not, or even if Kara had been on the same planet as them or not.

And then there was the way that Astra had touched her face just hours ago, once when Alex had been examining her supplies after treating Kara, and a second time just hours earlier. What did it mean? Was it some strange Kryptonian custom? Was Astra actually attracted to her, and if she was, what did that mean? Was she attracted to Astra? Possibly, that much she knew, but as to whether or not Astra was attracted to her, now that…was an entirely different matter. Besides, even they acted on this possible attraction, it could never work, their planets were at war with each other, once they were rescued, no matter which side actually rescued them, one of them would end up in a POW camp and then be repatriated home.

Shaking herself off, Alex returned to watching one of the openings in the trunk, frowning as she saw what looked like lights in one of the nearby trees. Getting up, she approached the edge of the opening and peered out, managing to make out lights coming form a nearby tree, along with shadows moving. Were these the natives they’d found evidence of? Or just animals moving around?

Alex was broken out of her thoughts by a distant boom. Twisting around, she saw a plume of smoke rising up from the mountains in the distance, something obviously having made planetfall from the two fleets in orbit above, but what? A piece of wreckage? Or another lifepod? And if it was a lifepod, which side was it from? Human or Kryptonian?

Making a mental note of its location, Alex glanced back at the tree with the lights, finding that the lights had gone out. Frowning, Alex slowly moved back to the fire, unaware of a small, bipedal creature watching her from the tree with the lights. Turning, it ran back into the tree, startling another creature

 **[** What are you doing out of bed? **]** the older one asked

 **[** Strange creatures, Mother! **]** the first one replied eagerly, pointing towards the tree where Alex and the others were holed up in **[** there! In the Old Place! **]**

 **[** In the Old Place? **]** the mother asked, leaning out and examining the tree in question **[** I see no creatures, **]** she noted **[** I see nothing **]** she added.

 **[** But I _saw_ them! **]** the child insisted **[** they came in the sky fall, on the day before last! **]** she insisted **[** they must be magic! They came from two eggs high in the tree, and killed a pack of leaf-hiders with fire and light! **]**

 **[** Ach! **]** the mother waved her hands **[** such nonsense. You’d do well not to listen to the old men, such nonsense they speak of! **]** she shushed her daughter when the child tried to speak again **[** go, to bed with you **]**

As the child dejectedly shuffled off to bed, the mother paused and examined the tree in question, unable to see the light of the fire due to the angle

 **[** Creatures from the sky, **]** she scoffed to herself **[** such nonsense **]** …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to ignore the superpowers aspect here, it would just make things too complicated, so either Kryptonians just don't develop superpowers in this universe, or the planet they're on orbits a different colored star than Earth, you decide :=)


	8. Strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter EIGHT! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex ducked her head under the waterfall, yelping and shivering as she did, the water was most likely glacial in origin, in other words it was fucking freezing! Gasping, Alex jerked back and away from the spray

“Well, that’ll get you up in the morning” she muttered as she shivered. The planet seemed to be temperate, but at the least the region they’d landed in seemed to have a environment similar to that of the Pacific Northwest on Earth, having a similar amount of precipitation, the fog rolled in early and stayed until about mid-afternoon.

Making her way back to the campsite, she found Astra and Kara both munching on emergency ration bars. Having already tasted part of her own supply of rations, Alex doubted that the Kryptonian equivalent tasted any better

“We’re going to have to find a more sustainable source of food soon,” Astra proclaimed as Alex sat down “we need to possibly start hunting in a few days”

“How do we do that?” Alex wondered “our ammunition for the plasma rifle and the pistols is in short supply,” she pointed out as Kara perked up, grinning as she launched into a long spree of eager-sounding Kryptonese. Realizing that Alex had no idea what she was saying, she held up her hands and mimed as if shooting a bow and arrow.

Alex turned to Astra, surprised

“You want us to go back to hunting with bows and arrows?” she asked skeptically

“It worked for hundreds of thousands of years for both our species,” Astra pointed out “and it no doubt works for the natives you mentioned seeing last night” she added

“Like I said, I didn’t see them,” Alex pointed out “but…it certainly makes sense,” she shook her head “right now, I’m more concerned with whatever fell last night”

“Yes, that concerns me too,” Astra nodded “if it was a lifepod, there’s no guarantee that the occupant—be they Human or Kryptonian—will be pleased to see us,” she noted “on the other hand, it may be some of value or use to us”

“It’s pretty far,” Alex pointed out “might take us a few days to get there on foot”

“Ah,” Astra held up a large metallic sphere, about the size of a grapefruit “but, we have this” she explained

“And _what_ is _that_?” Alex wondered

“Probe” Kara answered in heavily accented English

“I’ve been trying to teach her” Astra explained, looking absurdly proud of her niece, making Alex chuckle

“So how’s that thing work?” she asked, nodding towards the sphere

“It operates by remote,” Astra explained “we can send it to examine the crash site and see if there’s anything worth salvaging”

“OK, cool,” Alex nodded “let’s do it” she exclaimed, smirking as Kara mimicked her, looking puzzled over the (to her) strange-sounding words…

******

The probe shot across the landscape, easily homing on the patch of scorched and burned earth where the object had crashed. Watching on Astra’s small data pad, Alex found herself biting her lip nervously, suddenly hoping that it was nothing, that it was just a piece of worthless space junk, not only to avoid the long, possibly perilous climb, but also because she didn’t trust that anyone who had been in the possible lifepod wouldn’t kill at least one of them.

Kara suddenly yelped and pointed at the small screen

“Damn it,” Alex hissed “it _is_ a lifepod” she realized grimily

“Human,” Astra identified, adjusting the probe, sending it in closer for a better look “the hatch was opened, they got out” she noted as an alert suddenly sounded, a string of Kryptonian symbols suddenly flashing across the screen, before a bright flash obscured the probe’s vision as the screen went dark, another string of Kryptonian symbols now dimly flashing on the darkened screen

“What happened?” Alex asked

“Someone…just shot down the probe,” Astra pronounced as she looked between Alex and Kara “we are not alone on this world” she warned…

******

“OK,” Alex finished tying off the vine as Astra instructed “that should do it,” she proclaimed as she examined the snare now half-hidden in the foliage outside the main entrance to the ‘Treehouse’ as Alex had started calling their new sky high lodging, Astra had objected, but had been overruled by Kara, who liked how the word sounded, still giggling madly every time Alex said it. Alex found that she liked Kara, had they met in different circumstances, they probably would’ve been friends quite easily, and even now, despite the fact their respective species were at war, Kara treated Alex as if she was no different than a Kryptonian, something which Alex appreciated, whereas Astra, although trusting, still clearly had some reservations about the young doctor.

Starting on another snare, Alex took a breath as she reminded herself of the gravity of the situation. Assuming that whoever shot down the probe decided to follow it back to its point of origin (very likely, according to Astra), they would have to scale the tree first, assuming that they survived the two kilometer vertical ascent, Astra and Alex had rigged up several non-lethal booby traps to hopefully deter any would be trespassers. The traps were also good practice for laying more lethal traps for any animals in the area, and already Astra—with Kara’s help weaving—had rigged up a series of woven baskets to catch any birds or similar creatures, having successfully caught three parrot-sized peacock-like creatures

“You know,” Alex called out “I’m kind of tempted to lead whoever shot down the probe to one of those predators”

Astra chuckled in response.

As she went back to her work, Alex found herself periodically looking over at the tree with the lights, wondering if she really did see people---for lack of a better term—there, or if it was just her eyes playing tricks. Right now she couldn’t see anyone outside, but that didn’t mean anything, judging by the size of their own tree, the community or village she’d possibly seen could either never come out, or could be coming and going from another entrance.

Shaking it off, she returned to her task, frowning as she saw that one of the ties was missing, only for a hand to hold it out to her. Looking up, she smiled at Kara, still wondering how bad the situation on Krypton was for someone as sweet and gentle as Kara to become a solider

“Thanks, Kara,” she said, reaching to take the tie, only for Kara to suddenly freeze “what?” Alex asked, quickly getting to her feet “what is it?” she asked

“See” Kara said in her broken, accented English

“See what?” Alex asked

“Tree see,” Kara nodded “watching” she added. In addition to the tree with the lights, there was a third tree between their tree and the one of the lights, forming a kind of triangle, the branches from all three trees twisted and tangled together forming a series of bridges and roadways, and it was to this third tree that Kara was nodding to

“What is it?” Astra asked quietly as she approached, two baskets containing a now-dead captive bird in each hand (Alex wasn’t sure if she wanted to know how the bird met its end).

“We’re being watched” Alex whispered as the leaves rustled

“More of the natives?” Astra wondered

“Hopefully,” Alex agreed. She frowned thoughtfully and looked up at Astra questioningly “hunter-gathers, you think?” she wondered

“Possibly,” Astra nodded. She took a slight step forward and suddenly whistled “we mean you no harm!” she called out in English, repeating the call in Kryptonese. The leaves rustled some more and suddenly a small figure emerged from the foliage.

The creature was short, barely coming up past Alex’s waist, bipedal, and covered with short, fine brown-grey-green fur. Its face reminded Alex somewhat of a rabbit, it even had the twitching nose, but its eyes were forward-facing and wide, oversized almost like a lemur’s, while its feet were large, again like a rabbit’s, while its arms appeared to split in two at the elbow, giving it four upper limbs, which probably made navigating the dense foliage easier, the two lower arms were slightly shorter and thinner than its ‘main’ forearms, the hands less defined.

The creature’s ears were long like a rabbit’s but hung down off the top of its head, dangling down to its neck like a headdress. But the most striking thing about it, were the two, deer-like antlers or horns that grew from the top of its head.

The creature assessed the three castaways, looking just as startled to see them as they did it. In one of its three-fingered hands it held a short bow and two arrows, while in the lower arm it held what looked like a blowpipe. A string of colored beads or stones hung from its neck, and a leather belt hung low on its hips, holding what looked like a flint knife.

“We mean you no harm” Astra said, her voice soft and low, nonthreatening as she repeated the words in Kryptonese.

“Yeah, but does he mean _us_ harm?” Alex grumbled

“How do you know it’s a he?” Astra asked quietly

“Your vision may be better than mine, but just look between his legs” Alex grumbled

“Shh!” Kara hissed “he talk” she explained as the creature let out a series of chirping, whistling clicks and then looked expectantly at the three, clearly waiting for a response. The language was almost musical.

“I’m sorry,” Alex shook her head “we don’t understand. But,” she took one of the baskets from Astra and slowly set it down “here, as a show of our good intentions,”

The alien frowned, studying the basket and the potential meal inside

“Go on,” Alex encourage “its yours”

The creature nervously looked from the basket to Alex, finally chirping as he gestured to himself and then to the basket. As Alex nodded, the alien tentatively reached out and took the basket, before suddenly darting back into the foliage, the basket clattering against the branches as it did.

“A new friend, Doctor?” Astra wondered

“Hopefully,” Alex nodded. She hefted the handful of twigs in her hand “come on, we’d better get back to these traps. Friendly or not, I don’t want them showing up unannounced”

As Alex went back to her task, Astra paused, frowning at Kara

 **[** What is it, little on? **]** she asked

 **[** She gave away our food **]** the younger Kryptonian grumbled

Astra snorted

 **[** Kara, we have more, **]** she held up the other two baskets **[** and we can always catch more, **]** she added **[** I’m not about to start _another_ war over your stomach **]** she grumbled…

******

Chief Sssilk of the High Leaf folk slammed his club down on the table, the impact echoing throughout the small hollow

 **[** Silence! **]** he ordered. He turned to Cha’a and her daughter Sooll **[** let the child speak **]** he encouraged

 **[** Why do we listen to this? **]** Sia, the huntsman, demanded **[** creatures from the sky, ha! Nothing but the imaginings of a child! **]** he scoffed

 **[** My Chief! **]** Ch’en, one of the younger hunters suddenly burst into the hut, his eyes bright and alive

 **[** Ah, Ch’en, **]** Sssilk nodded, pleased **[** good hunting, I hope, young one? **]**

 **[** Yes—I mean no! I mean, **]** Ch’en took a deep breath **[** strange creatures, My Chief! **]** he exclaimed **[** in the Old Place! **]**

 **[** What did they look like? **]** Sooll asked excitedly

 **[** Tall! **]** Ch’en panted out **[** twice as tall as any Folk we have seen **]**

Sia, the huntsman scoffed once more

 **[** I say that Ch’en was not hunting, **]** he scoffed **[** I say that he was eating overripe berries. As he has been wont to do! **]**

There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd. Sia was the best hunter in the tribe, his word often held more sway then Chief Sssilk’s

 **[** I speak the truth! **]** Ch’en panted out. He held out the basket as proof **[** they gave me this! **]**

The crowd quieted

 **[** Let me see, Ch’en, **]** Chief Sssilk held out a hand, taking the basket from the young hunter **[** a flyer! **]** he exclaimed as he saw the creature inside

 **[** None of us, not even the great Sia, can catch a flyer, **]** Ch’en reminded the assembled crowd **[** they nest too high for us to climb. And the basket, **]** he gestured to the basket **[** could our best weavers make such work? **]**

The crowd began to murmur fearfully. Chief Sssilk struck his club once more

 **[** Both Ch’en, the hunter, and Sooll the child have seen these strange creatures, **]** he began **[** what say you all as to what we must do? **]** he asked of the crowd

 **[** We should kill these strange creatures! **]** Sia proclaimed

Chief Sssilk stood up, approaching the huntsman, his movements and body language spoke of his high standing in the tribe

 **[** Do you claim challenge, Sia? **]** he demanded

 **[** If we attack, these creatures may kill us, **]** Cha’a, mother Sooll, began **[** my daughter said that she saw them kill a pack of leaf-hiders with fire and light! **]**

 **[** But shall we do? **]** another tribesman wondered

 **[** We shall see these creatures, **]** Chief Sssilk proclaimed **[** and we shall, if we can, make peace with them **]**

The crowd looked dubious, but nodded…


	9. Hello Neighbors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINE! Enjoy! :=)

******

“OK,” Alex sighed “so, between us, we have my plasma pistol, your rifle and pistol, and Kara’s pistol,” she looked down at the weapons and their associated ammunition packs, two of which had already been expended during the second predator attack “you’re right,” Alex sighed “we need more weapons”

“Yes,” Astra nodded “we need to conserve these ones, use them sparingly, if at all, unless absolutely necessary,” she edged the weapons aside and pulled out her data pad, expanding the crude map into a three dimensional hologram above the pad itself “now then, we know that the tree to the northeast is inhabited” she began

“So, the tree to the west must be like their hunting grounds” Alex figured

“Yes,” Astra nodded “but what does that make _this_ tree?” she wondered

 **[** Aunt Astra! Dr. Danvers! **]** Kara suddenly called

Astra and Alex looked up from studying the map, and, each grabbing a weapon, hurried over to where Kara stood by the entrance to the Treehouse

“What is it?” Alex asked

Kara pointed towards the tree with the lights

“Come,” she said in English “people, hunters”

Taking the plasma rifle from Astra, Alex peered through the scope, seeing a long line of similar creatures to the one they’d encountered early that morning

“Oh boy,” she muttered as she passed the scope to Astra “god, I hope it isn’t jackalope season” she prayed

Both Kara and Astra stared at her, confused

“What’s a…‘jackalope’?” Astra finally asked “no,” she held up a hand “tell me later,” she instructed before peering through the scope again “hmm, they certainly don’t seem like a war party,” she noted “there are children amongst the adults…and what look like some type of pack animals”

“Maybe they’re nomads?” Alex suggested “maybe our presence here has scared them off?”

“We can only hope,” Astra muttered as she adjusted the scope “hmm, no, if they are nomads, I don’t think they’re leaving just yet,” she announced as she passed the scope to Alex “see the one in front, the leader?”

“Yeah…,” Alex adjusted the scope “a chief of some sort?”

“Most likely,” Astra nodded “but see how he’s dressed? A cloak and fine headdress?”

Alex blinked as she looked up from the scope

“A diplomatic envoy?” she wondered

“Possibly,” Astra nodded “they could be coming to meet the new neighbors”

 **[** Can anyone join this conversation? Or can only English-speakers? **]** Kara suddenly grumbled, causing Alex to smirked as Astra quickly summarize what was happening in Kryptonese

“So,” the elder Kryptonian began “they’re not coming to attack. So, what do you suggest?”

“Well,” Alex sighed “if they want to meet us, then let’s do the neighborly thing and say ‘hello’…”

******

The precession came to stop as Chief Sssilk held up a hand, frowning at the three creatures now standing on the bridge in front of the Old Place. Two were tall, as Ch’en said, taller than any of the Folk, they stood on two legs like the Folk but had no eyes or faces that he could see, their forms covered in glossy black, like the beetles that children often kept as pets. In the middle of these two strange creatures stood a third, with fair skin and a mane of short brown fur atop its head. It was dressed in some kind of strange blue cloth, a bright red shape, like two branches laid parallel atop each other stood out on its left breast, ringed with strange markings

UNTED EARTH MEDICAL CORPS

Beneath this circle was a string of equally strange, but similar markings

DR. ALEX DANVERS

Chief Sssilk could not make out any of these markings, and felt as if he was in the presence of something like in the Old Tales, something like the Three Wanderers

 **[** Are they…alive? **]** he wondered

His sister, Ssa, the tribe’s medicine woman stepped forward

 **[** Beetles are alive, **]** she noted **[** perhaps these…beetles are the protectors the one in the middle? **]** she suggested

 **[** But what is the one in the middle? **]** someone wondered **[** are they male or female? **]**

 **[** The one in the middle, it looks like a female **]** someone else added

Sssilk shushed the whispers with a gesture

 **[** Then it is female, **]** he proclaimed **[** until we learn otherwise **]** he proclaimed **[** Ch’en, Sooll, **]** Sssilk called to the hunter and the young girl, who both timidly approached his side. They did not fear their chief, for he was wise and kind and gentle, but these strange creatures, those they feared **[** Sooll, are these the creatures from the sky that you saw? **]** Sssilk asked

 **[** They look…different, **]** Sooll began **[** it was far away **]** her ears drooped, her face saddened at having disappointed her chief. Sssilk smiled at her, reaching out and playfully tugging on one of her ears

 **[** Even great hunters cannot see what is very faraway, **]** he reminded her gently, in his quiet fatherly way **[** go back to your mother, **]** he instructed **[** Ch’en. Are these the ones you met? **]** Sssilk asked

 **[** Yes, My Chief, **]** Ch’en answered confidently **[** the one in the middle, it gave me the basket with the flyer **]** he explained

 **[** Bah! **]** Sia the huntsman scoffed **[** let me kill them, My Chief, and we shall fest **]** he raised his spear, only for one of the two beetle-like creatures to easily reach out and swat it away. Snarling in anger, Sia tried again, only for Sssilk to grab his arm

 **[** You fool! You anger them! **]** Sssilk snarled, angrily shoving the hunter to the ground **[** I am Chief! And I say that we shall make peace! **]** he proclaimed, angrily kicking dead leaves upon the hunter, before he turned towards the three strange creatures **[** I am Chief Sssilk, of the High Leaf Folk, **]** he proclaimed **[** we come in peace and friendship **]** he added.

The beetle-like creature who had swatted Sia’s spear aside seemed to assess him, before its head shimmered, melting away like ice in spring. The creature behead the strange headdress was similar to the one in the middle, with a mane of long dark fur with a lone streak of white. Perhaps he had been wrong, Sssilk considered, perhaps it was this creature that was chief of these tall folk, it had the eyes and bearing of a chief. Yes, Sssilk nodded to himself, this one was chief. But what strange customs these tall folk had, a female chief was unheard of among the Folk, not even to the islands of the south.

“I’m sorry, we don’t understand” the new creature said as the other beetle also unmasked, revealing another creature with a mane of long golden fur, bright as the sun

 **[** It speaks! **]** Sssilk exclaimed

 **[** But what does it say? **]** his sister, Ssa, wondered **[** I have never heard such speech before **]** she noted.

 **[** The one in the middle, it spoke to me when it gave me the basket and the flyer, **]** Ch’en explained **[** but I could not understand it then, nor can I understand it now **]**

 **[** Ah,] Ssilk unsheathed his knife and offered it to the chief of the tall folk hilt first. It was a good blade, made of fine flint, and would be a shame to lose it, but he knew that he must make peace with these tall folk at all costs **[** a gift of peace and of good friendship **]** he proclaimed

The tall chief smiled and took the blade

 **[** She accepts! **]** Ssa exclaimed **[** well done, brother! **]** she praised

 **[** Yes, **]** Sssilk nodded, his relief palpable **[** we shall have peace with these tall folk, I think **]** he announced as the Tall chief unsheathed a knife from her belt and offered it to him, hilt first.

Shaking somewhat, Sssilk took the offered blade; it was larger than the kind the Folk used, almost as long as his arm, and the blade! What fine work! No cracks or blemishes!

 **[** A fine blade, **]** Ssa whispered **[** they must be honored by your offer of peace, brother **]** she added

 **[** It should be mine **]** Sia snarled from his place on the ground

 **[** If it was meant for your, the creature would have given it to you! **]** Sssilk snarled, growing tried of the hunter’s arrogance. Turning back to the Tall chief, he nodded his thanks as he took the blade and tucked into his belt

“Here,” the creature in the middle suddenly spoke, and offered a basket, like the kind that had been given to Ch’en “peace offering” she said as she held it out to Sssilk. He still did not understand the strange chattering sounds that these Tall folk spoke, but he understood the gesture and took the offered basket

 **[** We shall mark this bridge as a place of talk, **]** he explained to the Tall chief **[** and we shall meet and talk again **]** he explained. The Tall Chief’s face was confused, but she seemed to understand his meaning if not his words as Ssa placed a talking stick into the vines of the bridge.

Bowing to the strange folk, Sssilk led the tribe back to the village. They had peace with the Tall folk, and that was good, but he kept a wary eye on Sia, the huntsman could make trouble for the tribe, he could jeopardize the peace, and if he did, how would the Tall folk respond?

******

Astra, Kara, and Alex watched the tribe depart in good spirits, the children darted to and froe between the adults, laughing and playing

“Well,” Astra sighed as she examined the knife that the chief had given her “that went much better than expected...”


	10. The New Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TEN! Enjoy :=)

******

Night fell early as always on this planet, and found the three castaways sitting around a fire, roasting one of the bird-like creatures they’d caught. As dinner roasted over the fire, producing a sweet smell, Astra examined the knife she’d been given by the chief. It was a flint blade, small enough to fit within her boot, her own combat knife would probably seem like a small sword to the natives, and in truth she’d been reluctant to give up the knife, but as the chief had given up one of his own it seemed only fair to return the gesture in kind.

In addition the orbital scans that both the Humans and the Kryptonians had taken indicated that metal were very rare on this planet, meaning that their new neighbors would probably never develop to an industrial level without outside assistance, so metal, like the alloy in Astra’s combat knife, would most likely be seen as a highly prized item, by giving up such an item, Astra hoped that they had shown the natives that they meant no harm.

The chief’s flint knife had been well crafted, clearly great care had been taken to carve the jet-black flint, while the hilt, by contrast, was made out of what looked like some kind of curved bone, possibly a tooth from a large predator, like the ones they’d encountered when they first arrived. On the knife's pommel, several feathers similar in color to the animals they’d caught had been carefully wound to the bindings securing the blade to the hilt, and several designs had been painstakingly etched into the hilt itself, clearly a weapon of great significance, befitting a chief’s status in his tribe.

 **[** Aunt Astra? **]**

Astra looked up at Kara

 **[** Kara, wha— **]** Astra frowned in confusion when her niece suddenly draped one of the predator pelts around her shoulders. In addition to cleaning and drying the pelt, Kara had also added several feathers from the birds in a ring around the edge, forming a brightly colored collar of iridescent, shimmering feathers, which went well with the shimmering aspect of the pelt, using what looked like some fiber from one of the lifepods as a string to secure both the feathers to the pelt and to fasten the pelt itself into a cape.

 **[** There! **]** Kara proclaimed with a grin **[** now you look like a proper chief! **]** she laughed, bowing to Astra in a way that a Human might recognize as something resembling a curtsy.

Astra snorted out a half laugh and gently slipped her new ‘cape’ off, smiling at her niece. It was a totally impractical thing, a cape of all things, totally useless, but, like everything that her niece did, it made Astra smile, and it made Kara—who still had difficulty moving about due to her injuries—feel useful.

Watching all of this as she munched on a leg from the bird, Alex had to smile

“That’s a good look on you” she commented

“You think so?” Astra chuckled “perhaps Kara should make two more, then we’ll all go strutting around like self-important senators,” she laughed “what a sight that’ll make when we’re finally rescued; three women all very full of themselves”

“Might be a good thing” Kara commented in English, her accent still present, but her pronunciation was getting better by the hour. Given a few days and she might be speaking the language fluently.

“Might be,” Alex nodded “maybe the rescue party’ll think we’re all nuts and keep us all together”

A sudden somber silence settled upon the three, the jovial mood shattered, as they all realized that, whichever side found them first, would undoubtedly mean that at least one of them would end up in a POW camp

“Get some sleep you two,” Astra finally muttered “I’ll take first watch…”

******

Dawn came soon after, and found a small deer-like creature suddenly looking up from its grazing, other members of its herd doing the same, ears twitching, noses sniffing. Then…

Chaos.

A large black creature suddenly burst from the underbrush, launching a spear towards one of the herd, the spear’s point lodging in creature’s flank, the rest of the herd scattering deeper into the canopy. Assessing the now-dead creature, Astra deactivated her helmet and smiled

“Oh good,” Alex sighed as she emerged from the foliage, a bow and arrow in one hand “at least one of us got food,” she grumbled. She hefted the bow “I can’t figure out how to aim with this thing” she complained

“It takes practice,” Astra noted “how did Kara fare?”

“Ugh, don’t ask,” Alex grimaced “I think she spooked a bee’s nest or something. She’s fine, no signs of an allergic reaction to the venom. But still…ouch”

“Well,” Astra grunted as she slung the carcass over her shoulders “no one can succeed on their first try,” she noted “come along, Doctor” she encouraged as they rejoined a wincing Kara and headed back to the Treehouse, with Astra pausing briefly, having the odd sensation of being watched…

******

In the dense foliage, slightly lower on the canopy than the three, a small UE reconnaissance drone silently floated, broadcasting the image to the fallen lifepod in the mountains nearby, where its occupant watched with steadily growing anger…


	11. Broken Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ELEVEN! Enjoy! :=). Warning, lots of bracketed, subtitles in here :=)

******

Alex held her breath as she readied her bow, slowly drawing back the arrow. Careful, she told herself, careful. Slowly exhaling, she let loose the arrow, the water of the shallow stream splashed as it struck and embedded itself into the flank of a large, salmon-like fish

“Yes!” Alex hissed as she quickly reached into the cold water and snatched up the fish, quickly bashing it against a rock to kill it. Grinning to herself, Alex pried the dead fish off the arrow and placed it into the basket by her feet along with a few other fish and some kind of mollusk-like creatures

 _‘Damn, I’m getting good at this’_ she thought as she slung the basket up under her arm and began to walk back to the Treehouse. They’d been on the planet for about a week now and found that the third tree between the Treehouse and the Jackalope village (as Alex had termed the natives) had an entire ecosystem within its canopy, including a series of small streams and rivers fed by the waterfalls from the mountains the three trees grew against, meaning that they had a ready supply of fresh fish on hand. In fact Alex was already brainstorming on how to possibly find a way to farm the fish—since shooting them even in a shallow stream was still a tenuous undertaking—when she passed the large staff that the Jackalope chief had placed in between the village and the Treehouse, finding that a small kill had been left by the stick.

Since their initial meeting, the castaways had had a few more encounters with the villagers, mostly with either the chief himself or the same hunter who’d they’d first encountered. The villagers all seemed to be friendly enough, though still leery of the three strange beings who’d shown up on their doorstep. Some had even come to the ‘talking’ stick as it had been christened by Kara and tried to talk to them.

Neither side still couldn’t understand or adequately speak each other’s language—the Jackalopes more so than the castaways, who could mimic some if not most of the whistling, chirping sounds of their language with fairly reasonable accuracy—but they both seemed to be picking up a working idea of what the other was saying, in essence learning what certain sounds meant even if they couldn’t actually speak it in kind, even learning the names of at least three of the villagers, as well as picking up the alien words for ‘talk’/‘speak’, ‘hunt’, ‘kill’, ‘gift’, and ‘peace’/‘friendship’, a particular favorite of the Jackalope chief.

The Jackalopes in turn—at least their chief—seemed to understand the Kryptonese and English words for ‘friendship’ and could even repeat a few words from English, including—much to Alex’s great embarrassment—the word ‘fuck’, having picked it up when Alex had inadvertently and stupidly walked into one of her own snares and suddenly found herself dangling upside down by her ankles cursing up a storm, until one of the Jackalope hunters, presumably drawn in by the sounds, had come up to her and—after a brief moment of hesitation—had cut her down, given her a piece of his kill, and sent her on her way, and now whenever they saw her, more often than not, they’d bow to her and chirp out a slightly mangled, but understandable, rendering of the work ‘fuck’.

Astra had _not_ been amused in the slightest, having wanted to keep any cross-cultural contamination to a minimum. But, it was too little, too late, and already certain hunters, like the one they’d first met—who they learned was called ‘Ch’en’, although whether that was his name or rank or tile, they didn’t know—would often leave small gifts by the ‘talking’ stick, often small baskets filled with fruit or even a piece of a kill, such as leg from one of the deer-like creatures who roamed the wider, plains-like areas of the canopy.

Out of all of the villagers, Ch’en seemed to be the least afraid, followed only by a young female who would occasionally follow him it seemed to the talking stick, she was young, about ten or eleven by Alex’s estimation, and was called ‘Sooll’, she seemed to be very inquisitive, the last time Alex had actually seen Ch’en leaving a gift by the stick (he usually left it and then quickly disappeared into the canopy before any of the three could actually see him), Sooll had been chatting up a storm, presumably peppering the hunter with questions.

The third villager whose name they knew was one called ‘Sia’, who always gave Alex the creeps, he was the one who had tried to spear them on their first meeting with the villagers, they rarely saw him but when they did it was in the hunting ground and he was usually tormenting poor Ch’en, often even stealing the younger hunter’s kill, and generally behaving like an ass. She may have been anthropomorphizing, but to Alex, Sia seemed to be very full of himself, he clearly thought that he was superior to others.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Alex picked up the leg of whatever and placed in her basket, leaving a fruit in its place. Straightening up, she turned at a sharp whistle, a sharp pain suddenly exploded across the side of her head and then darkness surrounded her…

******

Cha’a of the High Leaf Folk looked up from her weaving, she had been trying to replicate the weaving of the Tall folk so far with only minimal success, the Tall folk had larger, stronger hands than the Folk, allowing them to bend and shape larger strips of wood and leaf than she. Abandoning her task, she slipped out of her hut and puzzled at the commotion. The huntsman, Sia, strode forward with great, swaggering confidence, his gaggle of followers—those hunters who saw him as if he was one of the Old Gods upon the ground eagerly trailing behind, dragging something large

Unless…

Cha’a gasped in horror as she saw just _what_ prize Sia had caught and brought back to the village. She turned to her daughter, frantically gripping her by the shoulders

 **[** Go and find the Chief and bring him here **]** she urged

 **[** But the Chief is on a vision quest, **]** young Sooll reminded her mother **[** no one may disturb him **]**

 **[** You must try, **]** Cha’a urged **[** I will take the blame if need be. Now go, and be swift! **]**

 **[** Yes, Mother **]** young Sooll nodded and quickly dashed off towards Chief Sssilk and his sister. Leaving Cha’a to watch the spectacle unfolding before her with growing horror…

******

Astra frowned as she paced, disturbing Kara who was happily weaving another basket. In addition to discovering that she had a talent for it, Kara also found that she liked doing it, and in recent days had tried to work some more artistic qualities into her work. Although her wounds had fully healed some days ago, Kara was still uncertain of her skills as a soldier.

In truth, Kara had never wanted to be a soldier she had wanted to be an artist, but the High Council had already begun a draft a year earlier and she was of age and had completed her studies and so was automatically drafted into the Military Guild. She knew that Aunt Astra could have easily used her connections to get Kara an exemption, but would have probably cost her, if not her rank then her reputation, and Astra’s reputation was everything to her, most especially as she had been using to it try to and persuade the High Council—to no avail so far—to make peace with Earth and to reveal the real reason behind the war.

 **[** She should have been back by now **]** Astra muttered

 **[** Maybe she got lost? **]** Kara suggested as she abandoned her weaving and stood up, putting on her armor as she did so **[** let’s go look for her **]**

 **[** No, _I’ll_ go look for her, **]** Astra countered **[** you stay here and keep watch **]**

 **[** But— **]** Kara protested as Astra readjusted her own armor

 **[** I can make it an order if I have to, Kara **]** Astra warned

Kara bit her lip, looking uncertain before finally nodding

 **[** All right, **]** she finally allowed **[** but bring her back safely **]** she pleaded

 **[** I intend to **]** Astra answered grimly as she slung her plasma rifle over her shoulder and marched out…

******

**[** Ch’en! **]** Cha’a frantically burst into the young hunter’s hut, startling him

 **[** Cha’a! **]** he toppled out of his hammock and onto the floor in surprise and quickly got to his feet with most of his dignity intact **[** what is it? **]** he asked

 **[** Come! **]** Cha’a quickly grabbed his hand, which surprised him, as it was custom that only a man’s wife make take his hand in such a matter. But then again, Cha’a was never one for obeying tradition, she had so far refused a suitor after her husband had been killed in a skirmish with the Low Leaf folk and had been raising Sooll by herself, and had been, for as long as Ch’en could remember, a very independent woman. Even now she dragged him out of his hut and towards the center of the village

 **[** Sia has done something foolish, **]** she explained hurriedly **[** if someone doesn’t stop him, the whole village may be in danger! **]**

Ch’en pulled to a stop

 **[** Well _I_ cannot stop the fool from doing foolish things any more than we can stop the rain from falling **]** he exclaimed

 **[** You must try! **]** Cha’a insisted **[** you are the only one in the village who refuses to bow before him. You must stop him! At least delay him until the Chief arrives! **]**

Ch’en slowly nodded…

******

Meanwhile, Astra had reached the talking stick, finding an upturned basket, its contents spilled across the moss, and a set of drag marks leading towards the village. Snarling in anger, she activated her helmet, loaded her plasma rifle and marched down the bridge…

******

Ch’en took a breath as he surveyed the scene before him. The Tall folk had been tied to a hitching post and was clearly dazed from a blow to the head, her eyes gazed and unfocused, already children and young hunters, those who had yet to actually experience their first real hunt, were pelting the unfortunate being with rocks and jabbing at it with sticks. One hunter rapped the being hard on the head with the butt of his spear and then strode away, head held high, as if he had just slain a great beast.

 **[** Sia! **]** Ch’en marched forward with far more confidence than he actually felt. Practically since the day he’d been born, Sia had been his tormentor, but still he must do this he knew **[** you arrogant fool! **]** he spat **[** we made peace with the Tall folk. And now you threaten that peace? You defy our Chief? **]**

Sia laughed

 **[** I have brought a great prize to the village, **]** he boasted **[** soon, it is _I_ who will be chief **]**

 **[** You are not chief yet, Sia! **]** Chief Sssilk angrily marched forward, young Sooll and her mother following behind. The Chief carried his war club and held it aloft as he gestured to the Tall folk **[** release her, I order it, before your foolish pride brings darkness and ruin upon our people! **]**

There was a sudden cry from the front of the village, and both Sssilk and Sia turned to see one of the other Tall folk standing there, the helmet melted away, revealing the face of the Chief of the Tall folk herself. She had clearly come to reclaim her taken, and she looked as if she dressed for war. A few hunters rushed forward, trying to stop her, but she easily swatted them and their spears aside. Marching into the center of the village, she turned and pointed towards the still-dazed member of her tribe.

 **[** No! **]** Chief Sssilk held out his arms, stopping the other hunters from attacking **[** put down your weapons! **]** he ordered. He turned to Sia **[** release her! And pray that they do not bring their fire and light down upon us! **]**

 **[** Bah! You are a fool to fear these creatures, Sssilk **]** Sia proclaimed

Chief Sssilk suddenly backhanded the impudent hunter across the face

 **[** YOU DARE BREAK THE PEACE! AND NOW YOU CLAIM CHALLENGE?! **]** he roared as he stood over the now-dazed hunter **[** were this the Dark Times I would take the blade the Tall folk gave me and use it to separate your _idiot_ head from _your shoulders_! **]** he rounded on the hunters still surrounding Astra **[** release the Tall folk, return her to her chief! **]** he ordered.

He turned to the Chief of the Tall folk, sinking to his knees before her as her fellow was swiftly relased **[** please, **]** Ssilk pleaded **[** I am chief, I am responsible for my tribe. If you seek punishment, punish me, but I beg of you, spare my people **]**

He watched as she sighed before suddenly reaching out and, taking him under the arms, pulled him to his feet, smiling kindly at him as she turned and assessed her fallen tribesman, idly pausing and giving Sia a hard kick to his side as she passed. Gently scooping up the other Tall folk, she turned and began to walk out of the village, cradling her fellow as if the other Tall folk was precious to her, a mate perhaps, Sssilk thought as she stepped onto the bridge and disappeared into the mist.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sssilk turned to Sia, who still lay dazed in the dirt

 **[** Take him, **]** he ordered, as several hunters seized the hunter **[** call the Elders. Sia must be punished **]** he instructed….


	12. Mending the Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TWELVE! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex winced as she opened her eyes. Who turned up the sun?

“Alex. Easy, easy, just lay still”

Was that Kara’s voice? How did she get so good at speaking English all of a sudden?

Shaking off the cobwebs, Alex managed to get her eyes to _focus_ and stared at the blurry image of Kara peering down at her intently, the medical scanner in one hand. She smiled down at Alex

“How are you feeling?” she asked, and although still accented, her English was now almost as good as Astra

“Hmph, my head hurts.” Alex groaned, rubbing at the sore spot on her head, she felt like she’d just had about a dozen pan-galactic gargle blasters, only without the fun that came with them “what happened?” she wondered as she tried to sit up, only for Kara to gently ease her back down

“The Jackalopes attacked you,” she explained “according to aunt Astra, it looks like Sia tried to bring you back as…a,” her lips twisted in obvious discomfort and disquiet “…prize” she finally finished, the disgust clear in her voice

“So, what happened?” Alex asked as she felt for and removed the neural sensor pad on her temple, earning a brief alarm tone from the medical scanner in Kara’s hand

“Aunt Astra brought you back” the young Kryptonian explained

Alex frowned

“Kara…,” she began “Astra didn’t…did she?”

“Did what?” Kara asked, confused “oh! Oh, no. No,” she shook her head with a slight laugh “no, she didn’t kill anyone. Apparently, Sia did it all on his own, so the chief had you released immediately” she explained

“Hmm,” Alex grumbled as she rubbed at her still-sore head “how long was I out?” she wondered

“Most of the night,” Kara explained “we stayed up all night by your bedside,” she paused and glanced at the air mattress that Alex was currently laying on “well…mattress-side, actually” she chuckled as Alex slowly eased herself up into a sitting position

“Where’s Astra now?” she asked

“By the waterfall,” Kara explained “I told her to go take a bath, because she _smelled_ ” she wrinkled her nose playfully on the last word. Chuckling, Alex slowly got to her feet, stayed upright, and managed to slowly make her way towards the waterfall. The pool they’d chosen for bathing was wider and deeper than the pool for drinking water, deep enough actually that one could even swim in it—albeit for a very short distance—as well as dunk themselves, allowing for a full-body clean.

Approaching the pool, Alex suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, mesmerized by the image of Astra emerging nude from the pool like Botticelli’s _Venus_. Her armor and weapons had been neatly set aside by the edge of the pool, while Astra was clearly taking her time drying off, sitting on the edge of the pool, one leg still in the water, the other drawn up to her chest, as she wrung out her hair.

Struck stupefied, Alex could only stare, her eyes drawn to the rivulets of water gently rolling down Astra’s chest, off her bare breasts, down her torso, to either pool in her navel or gather at the thatch of neatly trimmed curly dark hair between her legs, and Alex was suddenly seized by the urge to follow the path left by that droplet of water with her tongue. Sucking in a shaky breath, she decided that she must still be a little woozy from the concussion, jerking back as Astra suddenly looked her way, chuckling.

“Well, I take it that this means that you’re feeling better?” the Kryptonian chuckled as she swung both her legs out of the pool, affording Alex a brief, fleeting glimpse of her center as she stood up, flowing to her feet with inhuman grace and ease. Gathering up her clothes, she smirked as she passed Alex by, idly patting her on the shoulder as she did.

“Get well soon, my dear doctor” she chuckled

Leaving Alex feeling dizzy and lightheaded for a whole different reason…

******

Chief Sssilk of the High Leaf folk assessed the traitor Sia alongside the other elders

 **[** Sia, Son of Ssia, has broken the peace we made with the Tall folk, **]** Sssilk began **[** and in doing so defied his chief. What say you as to what must be done with him? **]**

 **[** He should be sent away from here! **]** one elder proclaimed **[** lest his ill thoughts bring further misfortune upon us **]**

 **[** Agreed **]** another elder nodded

Chief Sssilk nodded

 **[** Two speak the same, **]** he proclaimed **[** do any object? **]** he asked. When none answered, he nodded and turned to Sia, who now stood before the elders bound in heavy rope and watched by the best archers in the village **[** Sia. Son of Ssia. For breaking the peace with the Tall folk and defying your chief, I strip you of your name and your bow. You shall be taken from this place and brought to below the mists, there to spend the rest of your days, never to return. None may speak of or to you. You shall have no blade, only a spear like that which children are given. If you defy this order, and return here, or further molest the Tall folk which we have made peace with, you shall be killed, **]** he leaned back in seat with a tired sigh **[** take him away **]** he ordered as Sia was lead from the hut and out of the village

 **[** My Chief, **]** Ssa, Sssilk’s sister spoke up **[** what of the Tall folk? We must make amends with them, show them that Sia’s actions are not those of the tribe **]** she proclaimed

 **[** Yes, **]** Sssilk nodded **[** but how? **]**

 **[** Our law is clear, when something is taken by force, something of equal value must be given in its place by the taker when caught, **]** Ssa reminded him **[** that is our way, as it has always been **]**

 **[** But Sia did not take a bowl or a kill from the Tall folk, **]** an elder reminded the medicine woman **[** he took one of _them_. How do we return that? **]**

 **[** As I said, **]** Ssa nodded **[** Sia took one of the Tall folk, we must return something of equal value, **]** she proclaimed **[** the Tales tell of a great warrior who stole a wife from a rival tribe. Rather than go to war, the warrior’s chief gave one of his sons to his rival in return. The rival was satisfied and war prevented **]**

The elders all nodded in understanding

 **[** But who, sister? **]** Sssilk wondered **[** who can we ask to do such a thing? To leave their home and family to live among the Tall folk and their strange ways? **]**

 **[** You need not ask, My Chief, **]** the hunter, Ch’en strode forward **[** I will go **]** he proclaimed

 **[** I, too, will go, **]** Cha’a and her daughter Sooll also stepped forward **[** perhaps with three us, the Tall folk’s anger will be appeased, and they not harm the village **]** she added

Chief Sssilk frowned as he looked between three

 **[** You all speak as one? **]** he asked

 **[** Yes, **]** Ch’en nodded **[** we spoke at length earlier and we agree. We shall all go and live among the Tall folk until their anger is appeased or they see fit to return us **]**

Chief Sssilk sighed

 **[** Then, go with my blessings, **]** he proclaimed **[** tomorrow, at dawn, we shall make for the talking place and make peace with the Tall folk once more **]**


	13. Surrender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short double update! :=)

******

Alex sighed as she emerged from the pool feeling cold, but also clean and refreshed. Shivering, she got out of the water and swiftly got dressed, absently finger-combing her hair dry as she crossed the main part of the Treehouse to where Astra had taken up standing guard by one of the entrances, the light of the planet’s three moons shining down on her, making for an almost ethereal image

“How are you feeling?” the Kryptonian asked softly without turning around

“Better,” Alex nodded as she came to stand beside the Kryptonian “thank you,” she said “for rescuing me, I mean. If you hadn’t shown up, I don’t know what Sia and his cronies would have done to me”

“Nothing good, I’d imagine,” Astra shrugged. She nodded towards the valley below them, to the east of the Treehouse “I saw some more of those ‘deer’ crossing below earlier,” she began “if we could get down there we could have plenty of meat”

“It’s not the getting down that’s the problem,” Alex shrugged “it’s the getting back up with a dead animal on your back that’s the problem”

“True,” Astra nodded “very true, Alex”

Alex looked up at her, surprised

“That’s the first time you’ve ever called me ‘Alex’,” she noted “you usually call me ‘doctor’ or ‘Dr. Danvers’.”

“Why stand on ceremony?” Astra shrugged “there’s no one else here but us three”

Alex frowned, studying the other woman’s profile. Slowly, she reached out, tracing her fingers across Astra’s cheek. The Kryptonian stiffened but did nothing to stop the action. Emboldened, Alex traced her fingers up and back, threading them into Astra’s hair, at which point Astra turned to face her, her grey-green eyes bright, yet sad as she reached out and cupped Alex’s cheek, her thumb brushing across Alex’s cheekbone.

“ _I thought I’d lost you_ ,” she whispered “I was willing to burn the entire village to the ground if you’d been harmed,” she shook her head “don’t do that again” she pleaded

“Do what?” Alex asked, getting lost in grey-green eyes

“Scare me like that,” Astra replied, suddenly pulling the young woman close, holding her flush “I can’t lose either of you”

“You’re not going to” Alex vowed as she leaned in. She was close enough to kiss Astra now, and by god, she was going to. But Astra suddenly held up a hand, stopping her

“Alex,” she breathed “we can’t do this,” she whispered “we’re still enemies, and you are still my prisoner”

“Am I?” Alex challenged “am I really?” she smirked when Astra didn’t answer “we haven’t been enemies since you rescued me from the predators,” she explained as she leaned in again, taking note of how Astra stiffened “ _Astra,_ ” she whispered “ _just this time, just this once…stop fighting,_ ” she was less than an inch away from making contact with Astra’s lips “ _sometimes,_ ” she began “ _its not so bad to surrender_ ”

With a quiet sob, Astra suddenly surged forward, pressing her lips against Alex’s own, kissing her for all she was worth…


	14. A New Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOURTEEN! Enjoy :=)

******

Astra shifted, jerking awake to find herself on top of Alex, her head pillowed up against Alex’s side, the Human’s hand absently toying with a lock of Astra’s hair. Both women were still fully clothed Astra noted as she gently eased off of Alex, freezing as Alex’s hand suddenly gently tightened across her waist. Looking down, Astra found herself falling into dark brown eyes

“It’s all right” Alex smiled softly and Astra felt something that may have been her heart warm at the sight. It had been so long since she’d been looked at like that, like she was something precious, something to cherished, but not treated as fragile, no, Alex would never see her as fragile, that much she knew

“Wha,” Astra swallowed and found her voice “what do we do now?” she wondered “this can’t last forever, our worlds are still at war”

“As far as we know,” Alex reminded her, her hands softly combing through Astra’s hair “for all we know, the war’s been over for weeks, months even”

“But who won in your imaginings?” Astra challenged

“Maybe no one did,” Alex shrugged “maybe there’s been a ceasefire”

Astra frowned, biting her lip as she leaned in and captured Alex’s mouth with her own

“I hope so,” she breathed as she pulled away “I truly do”

 **[** Aunt Astra? Alex? **]** Kara suddenly burst into the ‘room’—in reality one of the alcoves that they’d each been using as a bedroom—freezing as she saw the two women laying atop one another

“We really need to get some doors in here” Alex grumbled as Kara began stammering and stuttering in a mix of Kryptonese and English, her hands waving frantically before she finally burst out laughing

“I _KNEW_ IT!” she crowed triumphantly “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! You thought I was crazy, Aunt Astra, but I knew it!” she broke into what could only be described as a happy dance, which was made even more strange by the obvious fact that Kara, dear Kara, had absolutely no rhythm, and instead looked more like she may have been having a mild seizure.

“Stop that!” Astra suddenly barked, quickly flowing to her feet “you are a soldier in the Military Guild of Krypton! Act like it!”

Kara pouted, rolling her eyes with a melodramatic sigh

“We’re not at war anymore!” she groaned “all we are is three lost people. It doesn’t matter what planet we’re from, what matters is that we’re working together to survive”

“Wait,” Alex held up a hand “what do you mean ‘we’re not at war anymore’?” she demanded

“Oh!” Kara quickly held up the data pad “I found a transmission from a satellite in orbit,” she explained “its broadcasting on all frequencies, Human and Kryptonian” she held out the screen as a grainy image of Colonel Lucy Lane appeared on the screen, apparently in the center of UEDF headquarters in San Francisco

“ _Ladies and gentlemen, people of United Earth and her colonies,_ ” she began “ _in recent days I’ve come to you to tell you about the progress of the war. But now I can tell you, with absolute certainty, that the war is over, a ceasefire has been agreed upon by myself and my counterpart, General Non,_ ” she gestured to a male Kryptonian standing besides her “ _as today, April 14th 2233, the Earth—Krypton War is officially_ over. _All Earth ships are to cease hostilities_ immediately _and return to base and await further orders. If you are traveling in Kryptonian-controlled space, rest assured you will not be harmed,_ ” she gestured to General Non “ _General_ ”

“ _This is General Non-Ur, and I address all of the sons and daughters of Krypton who can hear my voice,_ ” he began “ _the transmission that you just seen is genuine. All Kryptonian soldiers and vessels are to cease hostilities with any Human force and return home. A peace treaty has been signed with the people Earth. I repeat: the war is over,_ ” he took a breath, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders “ _you can finally return home_ ” he proclaimed.

The screen went blank for a second before the message repeated itself.

“It’s…over?” Astra asked in disbelief

“No more…death?” Alex wondered, looking equally as shocked “no more broken bodies? No more killing?”

“No,” Kara breathed as she took each of their hands “it’s over” she repeated

“No,” Astra shook her head as she stood up and walked over to one of the entrances “it’s not over. Not yet”

Slowly, the other two women approached, each staring out at the mountains nearby, their focus unwavering from the patch of scorched and charred earth where the hostile lifepod had landed weeks earlier

“Somehow,” Alex began grimly “I get the distinct feeling that, whoever’s in that pod, isn’t going to just roll over for peace”

“No” Astra agreed

“Crap,” Kara muttered as an alarm suddenly sounded from the data pad still in her hand “uh-oh”

“What is it?” Astra asked. In answer, Kara held up the pad

“Proximity alarm,” she explained “we’ve got company”

“Jackalopes?” Alex wondered

“Don’t know,” Kara shook her head “just says that we’ve got company” she reported

Sighing, both Alex and Astra each grabbed their weapons and took up defensive positions as something began moving in the mist outside…

******

Chief Sssilk took a breath as he stopped at the talking place. The mist was thick today, a sure sign of trouble on the horizon

 **[** Hello! **]** he called out towards the Old Place **[** Tall folk! It is, I, Chief Sssilk of the High Leaf folk! I mean no harm, I bring an offer of peace! **]**

 **[** Perhaps they are offended **]** Cha’a suggested fearfully

 **[** Or perhaps they cannot see through this fog, as we cannot **]** Ssa the medicine woman suggested as a twig suddenly snapped, a tall figure emerged from the mist. The Chief of the Tall folk herself smiled somewhat bemusedly at the group in front of her, consisting of Chief Sssilk, his sister Ssa, the young hunter Ch’en and the woman Cha’a and her daughter Sooll

“It’s the chief and Ch’en!” she called out over her shoulder, before beckoning the group forward

 **[** My fellow chief, **]** Sssilk began **[** I apologize for the actions of the hunter Sia. Rest assured that he has been punished and will not bother you any longer. But, to maintain peace between our two tribes, I bring a gift of peace **]**

Astra frowned at the chief’s words, as always, she only got the barest understanding of the gist of what he was saying. He seemed to be giving them something she realized as he gestured between himself to Ch’en and the child Sooll and who Astra presumed to be her mother, and finally gesturing to Astra herself. Watching the chief’s gestures, Astra suddenly blinked as she realized what, or rather _who_ , the gift was.

She held out a hand to wave the offer off, only for the chief to suddenly firmly clasp her hand in his own, nodding before he turned to Ch’en and the women, speaking with them for a few minutes, before he turned back to Astra, bowed deeply, and then swiftly departed with the other female.

Inwardly groaning, Astra stared at the three Jackalopes now standing before her…


	15. New Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FIFTEEN! Enjoy! Just a fair warning, but my updates may be a bit slow for the next few days, as my mother's in the hospital again, but, even if I don't update, don't worry, dear readers, I'll still be around :=)

******

“Kara! Stop laughing!” Astra ordered as Kara leaned against a large branch, howling hysterically

“This isn’t funny!” Alex snarled she gestured wildly to the three Jackalopes now standing—somewhat timidly—before them, looking in awe of the scope of the interior of the Treehouse “you don’t just… _give_ members of your own people away like they’re Christmas presents!” she exclaimed as Kara finally quieted down, panting for breath still giggling slightly

“What’s…‘Christmas’?” she asked

“It’s a holiday from Earth,” Alex answered distractedly as she assessed their new ‘tenants’ with a tired sigh “now what?” she grumbled…

******

Young Sooll tugged on her mother’s arm

 **[** Are they spirits, Mother?” **]** she asked

Cha’a frowned as she assessed the three Tall folk

 **[** No, daughter, **]** she shook her head **[** I do not think so. Strange, yes, but not spirits **]**

 **[** Oh **]** the child looked almost disappointed as the three Tall folk continued speaking amongst themselves…

******

“…we can’t just leave them…standing there all day!” Astra hissed

“I’ll give them a check up,” Alex declared as she slowly approached the three Jackalopes, holding out the medical scanner. They understandably backed away from the strange item—which Alex expected, but it still didn’t do her self-esteem any favors—but allowed her scan them all after a moment’s hesitation. Straightening up after a few minutes Alex studied the results scrolling down the small screen as she went back to where Astra and Kara stood

“Well, they’re all in pretty good health as far as I can tell,” she began “the only difference I can see is the formation of their larynx and vocal cords”

“Meaning that they most likely can’t speak either English or Kryptonese” Astra guessed

“Looks like it,” Alex nodded “we might be able to speak a little bit of their language, we already know a few words” she reasoned

“I have an idea,” Kara went picked up Alex’s bow and went over to the three Jackalopes “bow” she said in English, repeating it in Kryptonese. The three stared at each other in confusion, before Sooll’s mother perked up

 **[** Bow **]** she said

Kara looked over at Alex and Astra

“Did you get that?” she asked as both women tried and managed to _just_ mimic the strange, chirping hoot that was the alien word

“Oh yeah. This is going to be _real_ fun” Alex grumbled…

******

Night fell as quick as it always did on this planet and found Kara tending a fire with their three new arrivals, and Astra standing watch again, visibly tensing as Alex approached her from behind

“Are we going to talk about what happened?” Alex wondered softly

“Why?” Astra shrugged “you saw the message as I did,” she chuckled bitterly “I suppose that means that we’re now free to…do whatever we wish to do”

“Then,” Alex slowly came up to the other woman “…why do you sound like you’re world’s just ended?” she wondered

“Because” Astra snarled

“That’s not good enough,” Alex shook her head “you said it yourself that you wished that it was Krypton that Earth had made first contact with instead of Daxam, you told me this morning that you hoped that there’d been a ceasefire, a peace treaty. So why change your tune all of a sudden?”

“Because I can’t do this!” Astra suddenly snarled as she suddenly started to frantically pace “I, I can’t be what you want! I can’t be Alura!” she exclaimed “so do not ask me to be!”

“Hey, hey,” Alex reached out and gripped her by the shoulders “Astra,” she breathed “the only thing that I ‘want’ from you is…well… _you_ ”

Astra blinked, staring at her as if such a thing was unheard of

“Me?” she repeated softly “you just want…me?”

“I do,” Alex nodded as she leaned in and gently kissed Astra, an act which earned her Astra’s arms wrapping around her waist and a quiet sob as she clung tightly to the younger woman “hey,” Alex began as she pulled back “not too spoil the mood here, but who or what is ‘Alura’?”

“My sister,” Astra answered softly as she buried her face in Alex’s shoulder “my twin, Kara’s mother,” she explained, taking a shuddering breath “twins are rare on Krypton, identical twins even rarer,” she began “growing up, Alura was always the…” she trailed off

“The ‘better’ one?” Alex asked gently

Astra nodded

“Oftentimes, when we were coming of age to be betrothed, suitors she rejected would try to court me,” she began “they saw me as…some sort of…consolation prize. A substitute for what they could not have”

“ _Oh…Astra_ ,” Alex sighed as she pulled back to look Astra in the eye “you will _never_ be a ‘substitute’ to me,” she proclaimed “for one thing, I’ve never met your sister” she added, which earned a slight disbelieving snort from Astra

“Oh, great Rao, I sound like some sort of melodramatic character” she groaned

Alex shrugged

“Eh, comes with the territory” she shrugged as she pulled Astra close, pressing a gentle kiss to her shoulder as they both turned and stared out over the moonlit valley below…


	16. War of Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're BACK! Yes, that's right, Chapter SIXTEEN of "Marooned" is now up! Enjoy :=)

******

Sia, the disgraced huntsman, snarled in annoyance as he tumbled forward, painfully hitting the ground on his stomach, the impact knocking the wind out of him. Snarling in frustration as his quarry scurried away, Sia cursed chief Sssilk and the Tall folk for his misfortune, it was _he_ that should be chief right now, he was the only one in the tribe who’d seen how _evil_ the Tall folk were, yes, they used their magic and placed a spell on the village, that was why he’d been cast out, exiled to below the mist for all these months, at the mercy of the predators and monstrosities that lurked there; all Folk, from all tribes, knew that the lower one went in the canopy, down the trunk of the trees where they made their home, the more dangerous the predators became. At the very bottom, the forest floor, where no Folk had dared venture, were creatures who could only be imagined, things that only appeared in nightmares.

Still cursing under his breath, Sia stood up, brushing the dead leaves off his fur when a sound caught his attention. Turning, he gasped as a tall figure in dark, mottled green suddenly emerged from the mist. Gasping, Sia tried to run, only to hear a loud clap of thunder and feel a burst of pain flair across his lower leg. Crying out in pain, he fell to the ground, whimpering and panting for his mother as the Tall folk nudged him over onto his back with one foot. Painfully gripping him by one antler, the Tall folk pulled him upright

 **[** Please! Don’t kill me! Pleasepleaseplease! **]** he pleaded, pleas for mercy blabbing uselessly from his lips as the Tall folk held a strange silver object to his mouth, a light flashed from within as the object spoke in the strange chattering sounds of the Tall folk

“ _Language assimilated. Commencing download. Download complete. Full translation matrix established_ ”

“ _Can you understand me?_ ” the Tall folk suddenly rumbled out. Its voice was deep and rumbling, like thunder from the mountains, with an odd metallic, echoing sound. The Tall folk gave Sia a hard shake “ _answer me!_ ”

 **[** Yes! Yes **]** Sia panted out, yelping as the creature dropped him to the ground, pinning him there with one foot as they removed their headdress

“Where are the others?” he (she?) asked as he leaned down, looming over Sia “the ones who look like me. Where?”

Sia felt himself began to smile. If he helped this Tall folk, then perhaps it might reward him. Grunting he managed to stand up

 **[** Come **]** he invited…

******

“Good morning”

Alex looked up, smiling as Astra came over and sat down next to her

“Good morning” she replied

“How are our new guests doing?” Astra wondered

“Pretty good,” Alex nodded to where Sooll and Kara were weaving baskets “Sooll is doing good, her mother’s still a little apprehensive from what I can tell, Ch’en I think is still in awe of all of this”

“He does seem rather….‘gob smacked’, I think is the term,” Astra noted with a chuckle “and yourself?” she asked “how are you doing?”

Alex smirked and leaned in, giving the Kryptonian a quick kiss on the cheek

“That answer your question?” she grinned, but frowned when Astra’s face hardened “what is it?”

“As much as I’m enjoying your presence and your company,” Astra began “we’re still castaways; we still need to find a way off this planet. As to ‘where’ we’ll go once we leave…I have no clue”

“Anywhere,” Alex shrugged “the war’s over now, so we can go to Earth, Mars, New Earth, Krypton. I hear Daxam has a great amusement park”

“As far as we know the war is over” Astra noted

“What, you think that message was a fake?” Alex wondered

Astra shrugged

“Let’s just say that the timing was a tad too coincidental for my liking” she explained as a distant rumble made them look up, watching as flaming object tore through the sky before abruptly disappearing into the trees

“That was not a meteor” Alex noted as she stood up, watching the contrail left in the object’s wake

“No,” Astra agreed “meteorites don’t adjust for course changes”

“Another lifepod?” Alex wondered

“Too small and too slow,” Astra shook her head “if it is a lifepod, it’s a single-occupancy pod, and older one at that,” she shook her head with a sigh “it’s not too far away” she commented

“Kara!” Alex called out, waving as the young Kryptonian waved back “get your armor on, we’re moving out!” Alex ordered…

******

Deep within the mountains, the lone Human lifepod detected the object falling from the sky and sent out a signal to it’s occupant, informing them of the object. Once the occupant had confirmed the signal the lifepod promptly self-destructed, the explosion sending up a massive cloud of earth high into the air, attracting the attention of a hunter of the High Leaf Folk, who quickly abandoned her hunt and sprinted back to the village to tell Chief Sssilk…

******

It took about an hour to reach the newest arrival, with Astra and Kara in full armor and Ch’en and Alex both armed with bow and arrow they reached the crash site, finding that whatever had crashed had slowed its descent, there was no impact crater or reentry fires, only several broken trees and a long gouge in the bark at one end rested the object in question. It was long, about six feet in length, cylindrical in shape, tapering slightly at each end, forming a ovoid, the sides and edges of the object had clearly been scorched by reentry, and were now blackened and pitted

“Guys?” Alex fingered the long, mottled tarp-like object now dangling from one broken tree, connected to the object by a series of long, thin cords “I think this is a parachute” she noted as Astra and Kara came over

“Looks like,” Astra noted “rather primitive way of stopping your craft”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed as she cautiously approached the object, scanning it “no radiation or harmful pathogens,” she announced “it looks inert,” she crouched down next to the object “is this…steel?” she wondered

“Looks like,” Astra held out her arm, Kryptonese symbols scrolling down a small screen on her gauntlet “yes, it’s steel,” she announced “and look,” she pointed to the hollowed out depression where the parachute cords still connected to the object “explosive bolt release”

“I don’t get it,” Alex shook her head “steel pod, explosive bolts, parachutes. Neither Earth or Krypton has used these kind of technologies for…at least three hundred years, not since First Contact”

“ _No,_ ” Astra suddenly breathed as she slowly stood up, looking around the crash site “ _not here_ ” she pleaded

“Astra?” Alex questioned “Astra, what is it? What’s wrong?” she looked between the object and Astra “you know what this is,” she realized “Astra,” she growled “what is this thing? Where is it from?”

Astra shook her head, looking physically ill, as Kara edged Ch’en away, seeming to know what was going on and had decided to be as far away as possible when the dam broke.

“Damn it, Astra!” Alex lunged, gripping Astra by the shoulders “tell me what this is!!”

“Death!” Astra snarled, roughly shoving Alex away “that’s what it is; death in a bottle. The hatred and xenophobia of the Human race all wrapped up with a pretty bow!” she shoved past Alex breathing harshly “did you ever wonder just who started this war?” she demanded “which side first opened fire on the other? Not us, oh no, we retaliated, yes, we took New Nevada from you, but it was _you_! Humans, who started this war!”

“We didn’t start the war!” Alex roared “you launched an unprovoked attack on a Human colony! We responded! End of story!”

“Oh no,” Astra laughed “only the final chapter of the story, my dear Doctor,” she smirked “let’s go back shall we? Earth has just made contact with Krypton, your scientists want to see our planet, our history, but the High Council refuses, negotiations stall…and then, suddenly the Council agrees to allow Human scientists to set foot on Kryptonian soil. Didn’t you ever wonder _why_ the Council suddenly had a change of heart? Why they allowed outsiders access to our planet?” she smirked at Alex’s confusion “you see,” she began “a few weeks before the Council agreed, the Military Guild captured several Humans who had made unauthorized planetfall, they were all heavily armed and killed several officers before they were finally captured. When questioned, they proclaimed themselves to be the ‘saviors’ of Humanity, that alien life was an inherent threat to Human existence”

“I don’t understand,” Alex shook her head “why would you take the words of a few extremists at face value?”

“They weren’t extremists,” Astra shook her head “they were members of your own United Earth government, sponsored by a shadow cabal inside the highest echelons of Earth’s government,” she sighed, the fight seeming to leave her temporarily “all right, here’s what happened. When Daxam made first contact with Earth, some Humans naturally feared Daxamite intentions, right? But, as time went on, what had begun as a healthy suspicion, soon turned into outright paranoia. These individuals began to organize, to insert themselves into high-ranking positions in your governments as Earth unified, forming a shadow government, a group who acts solely in their own interests. The Mars Colony Famine? The New Earth plague? Did you think that all those events just ‘happened’? No, they were _tests_ , experiments to find the most efficient way of exterminating any alien threat to Earth, all done by a group of amoral individuals who feel that the ends justify the means, that Humanity is the only species worthy of survival, and who are all supported by Daxam”

“Daxam?” Alex echoed “why would _Daxam_ support a bunch of anti-alien extremists?”

“Simple,” Astra answered “control. Did you ever wonder _why_ Daxam just gave away advanced technology for free? It certainly wasn’t due to altruism, you yourself know that Daxamites are far from altruistic,” she shook her head “no, it was in the hopes that you’d destroy yourselves. They gave you advanced power sources, flash-warp technology, all forms of technology that could easily obliterate half the population of Earth in a single day if mishandled”

“…and then they’d come in and quietly absorb us into their colonial empire,” Alex realized. She shook her head “but, I don’t get it, we didn’t destroy ourselves, obviously, so why would Daxam start supporting anti-alien extremists?”

“Playing both sides,” Astra answered grimly “since the initial schism, Krypton has always tried to stop or curtail Daxam’s expansion, to keep them localized as best we could. Eventually they found a different solution; conquest by gradual assimilation and attrition. Daxam directed Earth to us, they purposefully directed your ships to Krypton by giving you star charts and information on species that are best avoided and then, once Earth and Krypton made contact, helped a group of Human extremists to the planet’s surface, knowing that it would start a war, knowing that both our planets would throw our full military might into the conflict because neither side can afford to lose now. Our respective planets’ environments are too far damaged to repair, you said it yourself, both Earth and Krypton are expanding out into the galaxy trying to find new homes”

“And threatening Daxam’s colonial ambitions,” Alex realized “but how would they keep us from resisting the assimilation?” she wondered “I mean Humans number in the trillions now, we outnumber Daxam ten to one”

“Do you?” Astra countered “Alex, how long have you been a doctor? Ten years right? And in those ten years how many patients have you had who were pregnant?” Alex paled as she realized that, in all her time in medicine, she’d only encountered maybe a dozen or so pregnant women, maybe less

Astra nodded slowly

“Like I said, Daxam gave you advanced technology,” she reminded the young doctor “medicines and vaccines that grant you immunity from all Earthly disease, a longer lifespan, better health, all with one…little…side-effect: sterility. Oh, it’ll take years, decades even, before the effects become noticeable but in that time Daxam will have played you all for fools. The extremists within your government, who themselves have no idea that they’re being supported by Daxam, will eventually stir up enough xenophobic paranoia among your population that you’ll abandon your allies, retreat to your dying home world. And then, just when all hope seems lost, when the sterility plague is at its height, Daxam will return and save you once again, they’ll take what few Humans are still alive—a few hundred thousand at most—and take you off-world, ‘resettle’ you. Those few survivors will eventually lose their memories of Earth, becoming quiet, obedient, blissfully ignorant… _slaves_ ”

“How do you know all this?” Alex breathed, frightened, truly frightened of the vision to come in Astra’s words

“Because I’ve seen it,” Astra answered “Daxam annexed our moon of Wegthor when I was a child and the exact same scenario I described played out there, the birthrate dropped, the colony severed all ties with our government due to extremist isolationist factions within the government, and soon, they took the colonists and brought them to live on Daxam”

“Our meeting,” Alex began “it wasn’t just by chance, was it?”

Astra shook her head

“Not strictly, no,” she answered “do you recall those insurgents who tried to invade Krypton I mentioned earlier? Only one of them cooperated fully with our government, a scientist who’d discovered the link between the decreasing birthrate and the Daxamite medicines. A man named…‘Jeremiah Danvers’.”


	17. The Light in the Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVENTEEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Your father claimed that he had been blackmailed to join the extremists,” Astra began as she idly tended the fire back at the Treehouse. They’d left the mysterious object where it lay and for now could only wait to see what would happen next

“Not many of the Military Guild believed him,” Astra continued “but I did. He seemed…gentler than the others, less hateful,” she shook her head “anyway, he claimed that the extremists threatened his family unless he joined their cause. Not many believed him, but I did,” she paused as she tended the fire, adding more moss and twigs, before continuing “he gave us as much information as he could, which wasn’t much I’m afraid, I guess the extremists didn’t trust him all that much”

“My father died in a Kryptonian shuttle crash that killed half our Diplomatic Corps,” Alex said softly “the Kryptonian Military Guild wouldn’t even let us give him a proper burial”

Astra looked up at her sharply

“Yes, he did,” she confirmed “but what they didn’t tell you was that the shuttle was loaded with a cargo full of nerve gas and was on a collision course with the United Earth capital in Geneva. Some of the extremists managed to escape capture and stole a flash-warp capable shuttle, intending to no doubt release the nerve gas into Earth’s atmosphere and blame our people, it was a Kryptonian military shuttle after all, but your father…,” she shook her head “he escaped his guard and boarded the shuttle. From what we’ve managed to piece together, your father managed to wrest control of the shuttle from the remaining extremists and deliberately piloted it towards Earth’s moon,”

She looked Alex square in the eye

“Your father died a hero, Alex," she emphasized "there was enough nerve gas onboard that shuttle to kill half the population of Western Europe. We couldn't even handle the bodies they were so contaminated. _That_ was why the Council covered up the event, called it an 'unfortunate accident' and buried all records of the true circumstances”

“Was that why we met?” Alex wondered softly "my father?"

“Partly,” Astra sighed “my sister is a member of the High Council; she recognized Jeremiah’s sacrifice and agreed with me that the only way to avoid total war was to expose this shadow government," she began "using her connections, Alura managed to convince the Military Guild to assign officers of my choosing aboard our ships. Officially they’re meant to root out any possible Human spies onboard, but…in reality, they’re suppose to make contact with the first non-combatant Human they meet”

“So…our two lifepods crashing here was part of the plan?” Alex wondered

Astra sighed, looking away

“Yes,” she answered hoarsely “the idea was to prove to the Council that our two species could work together, that the bonds forged between the various castaways would be strong enough to form a strong cultural alliance to oppose both Daxam and the shadow cabal," she explained “although, in truth, I didn’t know for a fact that you were onboard the _Cadmus_. All I knew was that you were assigned to a ship within the same battle group as the _Cadmus_. It was my hope that we might meet at some point, I could find a way to somehow talk to you, convince you to help me end the war and expose this shadow group within your government. That's why Kara and I were assigned to the _Black Zero_ , since they were meant to be on patrol in the same sector as the _Cadmus_ ”

Alex nodded slowly as she took a harsh breath

“And…us?” she wondered “was that part your little plan?” she sneered

“No”

“What about Kara?” Alex wondered “does she know?”

“About the extremist plot, yes, but not about your father,” Astra explained “but she…I think she knows more than she lets on, I think she knows in some way the real reason for our assignment,” she reached for the younger woman, gently gripping her arm even as Alex tried to pull away “Alex, please,” she pleaded “I know you hate me right now”

“You could’ve have told me” Alex spat

Astra sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head

“That would have invalidated the experiment” she explained softly

“Oh well,” Alex threw up her arms “we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” she sneered “you know, maybe those extremists are right; aliens _can’t_ be trusted!”

“Damn it, Alex!” Astra snarled “I know that you’re angry, but I also know that if our positions were reversed you would do exactly— _exactly_ —the same thing”

“Bullshit! I would _never_ do something like this!” Alex snarled “I would have you told you up front!”

“Would you?!” Astra demanded “if your world, your people, were at stake, if the very survival of your species hung in the balance, would you?”

She sighed as Alex clenched her jaw but said nothing

“That’s what I thought,” Astra sighed “Alex…please, you have to understand that my duty—my first duty—is to Kara and my people. For all we know, the reason that the war is over—assuming that it actually _is_ over—is because the extremists launched a successful attack on Krypton and forced our surrender,” she reached out with a shaking hand and tentatively cupped Alex’s cheek, pleased when Alex didn’t pull away “Alex, I love you, but my people—my world—must come first”

Alex took a breath, swallowing

“Say that again,” she breathed “say that you love me again”

Astra blinked, looking somewhat startled, and then chuckled, reaching out with her other hand to cup Alex’s other cheek

“I love you” she breathed

“Again” Alex requested

“I love you”

Sniffling, tears welling up in her eyes, Alex leaned in close, burying her face in Astra’s shoulder

“ _I love you too_ ” she whispered tearfully. Their world, this strange planet that had become a surrogate home for them, could end tomorrow, but right now there was only the two of them. Watching all of this from an upper level, Kara smiled and made a quiet mark on her datapad

****

**Experiment successful**

Nodding to herself, she quietly crept back to her ‘room’ to get some sleep, Alex and Astra no doubt had a lot to talk about… 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


End file.
